


Till The End Of Time

by Arithese



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: ABC Challenge, Broken Bones, Dark-Raph, Drabbles, Electricity, Episode: s03e01 Within the Woods, Episode: s05e05-06 When Worlds Collide, Experimentation, Gen, Hallucinations, Hospital, Klunk - Freeform, Military, One-Shots, Religion, Super Shredder, Toddlers, Tokka - Freeform, Turtle Tots, injuries, scientists - Freeform, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-07-20 16:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16141490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithese/pseuds/Arithese
Summary: Drabbles and one-shots, Mikey-centric





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1: Mikey and Splinter go out scavenging, but it ends in a disaster.  
> Chapter 2: Rewite of the Dark Raph episode, but with hurt Mikey. (Surprise)  
> Chapter 3: When Splinter vanishes for a few days, and they think he died, 9 year old Mikey has a weird way to cope (Based on a Dutch book)  
> Chapter 4: One-shot written for the ABC Contest Challenge on DA - Open-minded. Raph and Mikey discuss religion, and Raph accidently (seemingly) offends Mikey.  
> Chapter 5: Rewrite of Within the Woods, where Don watches Leo when he wakes up.  
> Chapter 6: Rewrite of The Darkest Plight  
> Chapter 7: Rewrite of Tokka vs. The World.  
> Chapter 8: Rewrite of When Worlds Collide
> 
> And all, except ch. 5, with a lot of Mikey whump :)

It was a rare moment they were actually together. How much it pained him to think, he realized he rarely spent time with his youngest son. Mostly of the time he was mediating, his body aging and making him more tired during the day, making it up with all the meditations. And his oldest sons, Leonardo joined him most of the times.

Of course he saw his sons often, with training, or short talks in the morning but he realized that apart from those moments, he was gone a lot. He talked with Donatello, his second youngest son, a lot. About new inventions and things to improve the lair with, and the lair to secure their safety from all the enemies.

He also talked a lot with Raphael, ever since the accident in the sewers and losing a part of his shell a few years back, he occasionally talked with his son about his anger-issues. The thing that caused the injury in the first place. And the aging rat had noticed it was bothering him a lot through his life, and the lives of his brothers.

But he rarely ever spent time with his youngest, like real time. He often talked to him in the morning, or shortly during practice, but unlike his brothers, never really spent some son and father quality time with him. And it saddened him a lot to know he wasn't. His sons were growing up right in front of him, he trained them.

They were going out on patrols almost every night, dangerous patrols to defend the city, that didn't even know of their existence. And yet he rarely saw his youngest. He still remembered the day he found them, after grabbing them and taking them back to his old apartment after their mutation he laid them down on the bed.

Leonardo had been obviously the oldest, from the beginning he was. While he wasn't the longest, or the strongest, he was in front of his brothers with a determined look on his infant-face. Raphael was behind him, glaring at the newly mutated rat and in front of Donatello and Michelangelo. His second youngest hugging the freckled one.

He still remembered how, no matter how hard he tried to coax them, he was never allowed to touch any of Leonardo's brothers. And he still remembered how little Michelangelo had looked that day, obviously not feeling well. He left them food every day, trying to keep them silent so the neighbors wouldn't hear the infants, and it was gone every day he checked again.

A few days later he woke up from a soft tapping on his nose, and when his eyes opened he stared right into sea blue eyes of the eldest turtle. There was still some doubt but for once he allowed the mutant rat to touch him, and to pick him up. He was beyond happy that day, seeing that the turtle was accepting him, but the reason worried him.

When he carried the oldest one to the room, he saw that the smallest one, Michelangelo was sick and was refusing to eat. His two older brothers were curled around the little one, giving him as much warmth as they could, but it wasn't enough. Raphael was a little bit hesitant still, and kept glaring but for once allowed Hamato Yoshi to pick up Michelangelo too.

The little turtle felt warm in his hold and sleepily opened his eyes, immediately starting to whine in distress. And while they were obviously male, he couldn't help but to think of his deceased daughter Miwa. He carefully placed Michelangelo on the bed again and hurried to the kitchen. He still had the small amount of stuff needed to care for a baby.

He knew they were turtles, but he also saw how humanoid they were. And Michelangelo's condition was worsening. He had quickly mixed a baby formula and warmed it to the right temperature. The three brothers had been cautious about the strange device, but the moment Michelangelo had clamped his mouth along the teat and happily started to drink the food, the brothers relaxed.

A smile crept on his face as he remembered that particularly memory. After that day Michelangelo grew stronger every day, and after 3 days he was fully recovered again. And after that day, the brothers started to fully trust him, not leaving him alone any day. Not even when they were forced to flee to the sewers because the neighbors had noticed the cries of the infants.

And before he even knew, his children had grown up, and the infants he adopted 15 years ago were replaced with confident teenagers who could hold their ground against powerful enemies, all expect for the Shredder. And instead of the clingy babies he remember, were now independent brothers, each with their own different personality.

Mikey giggled with delight as they continued to walk. Splinter chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. The lair wasn't the same without his youngest telling joke and jumping up and down. And of course the contagious laugh of his. He always loved it, and it made him smile everyday he'd hear that sound, and he had heard it way too less the last few years, not spending time with him.

It was the exact reason he was out with him right now, to spent more time with him. Donatello needed more materials for a new device and had asked Mikey to look for it, Raphael and Leonardo had both been busy so Splinter had, for once, volunteered to go with Mikey. And the freckled turtle had been excited from the beginning.

"Quiet down my son, we don't want to alert the enemy" Splinter called out. He loved that laugh of his son, but it would be dangerous for enemies to know their location, or the fact that they were topside for that matter. Mikey gave him a large grin before hopping down the building, landing swiftly in the alley, Splinter followed suit.

"We should do this way more Sensei, this is fun" Mikey grinned as he began to search through the rubbish. Sensei chuckled because of his statement. Nobody of his brothers thought searching through rubbish was fun to do, but somehow Mikey enjoyed the moment with his father. That was just Michelangelo.

He was unique, other than his brothers. All of them were different, but there was something with Michelangelo. He was, unlike his brothers, never angry. Though when he was it was really bad, but he never stayed angry for a long time. He was always helping others, and prepared to spend time with his brothers, or father for that matter.

"I second that my son" Splinter replied calmly as he too began to look through the garbage until he suddenly stiffened. "My son" He breathed out, not daring to leave the rubbish in front of him. A important lesson he had taught his sons so long ago. Don't make your enemies aware of the fact you sense them.

Mikey immediately recognized the tone of his sensei and shuddered. He could feel chills being sent down his spine. He knew that tone, something was wrong, a human or enemy nearby, but the stance of his father gave away it was the latter. Without really looking Mikey pulled out something from a plastic bag, holding it up.

"Is this what we're looking for sensei?" Mikey asked innocently but softly nodding so his father would understand he had heard the call, and he had noticed the tensed muscles in his father. And before his father could respond he could feel the same presence, the enemies nearing them slowly. And he praised himself for bringing his nun chucks tonight.

"Bring it closer my son" Splinter called out softly, but Mikey caught a slightly glimpse of fear in his voice. Keeping the smile plastered on his face he walked over to his father, a little too eager. It was a rule they all had, when there were enemies they had to stay together, not being separated in any way, it would only make them more vulnerable.

When the two reached each other Mikey immediately threw away the piece of rubbish and drew his weapons, Splinter doing the same. Unsheathing his sword from his walking stick, and seconds later a whole bunch of footbots dropped down the alley, encircling them along with Rahzar, who was grinning madly.

"Thought I smelled turtle, and rat" He practically purred and gestured to the rat. "I have you now Hamato Yoshi, master Shredder will be pleased when I bring you.. and your son to him" He said, pausing a moment and returning to Mikey, who angrily glared back and began to spin his nun chucks around, ready to use them any time now.

"You won't harm my son" Splinter snapped, raising his sword but not attacking yet. A low growl came from the back of his throat, threatening the enemies to stay back, nobody would hurt his son. Seconds later Rahzar let out an equally threatening roar and charged in on the two. Mikey shrieked and jumped away, deflected another attack of a footbot.

"My son!" Splinter called out as he jumped in front of his son and deflected the attacks of three footbots, cutting off their heads from their bodies with a simple cut, but more replaced them very soon. Behind him he could hear nun chucks hitting metal, and occasionally the battle yell of his son. He wanted to turn around, protect his son.

But more footbots kept him busy and he knew his youngest son could handle the situation. He may be goofing off a lot, but he was strong, fast and despite what everyone thought, smart. Pretending like he had found something, and 'showing' it to him, so they wouldn't be separated anymore. But that thought was soon interrupted by a loud scream.

He almost froze. The scream was filled with pain and agony. He gritted his teeth and swung his sword, knocking away 8 footbots at once, immediately turning away afterwards. His youngest son was sitting on the ground, sitting on his side and supporting himself with his right hand and swinging his lone nun chuck in his left hand.

His left leg was totally mangled. A footbot with a thick bat was next to Mikey, on the ground and his head detached from the robotic body. The bone in Michelangelo's leg was poking at his flesh, blood slowly pouring out of the cut on his plastron but it wasn't life-threatening, instead it was painful. Agony clearly written on Mikey's face.

And despite the pain, he carried on. Splinter growled lowly and knocked away the mutant wolf that approached his son, almost cutting off his head, but his son needed him. He immediately turned around and knocked down more footbots coming towards his son. Tears were leaking down his freckled face but still he was desperately keeping his weapon raised.

"Get away from my son!" Splinter snapped and raised his sword once again, clearing the footbots in the small area. "Michelangelo, get on my back" he knew he was asking much of his son, with his busted leg but they had to get out of here, and with Michelangelo unable to put any pressure on his leg, he had to carry his youngest son.

There was a soft mew of pain behind him but seconds later he felt something climb onto his back, followed by another pained noise. He hated hearing his son in pain but if they didn't get out of here, they would surely die. There were simply too many. The footbots weren't hard to defeat, but there were too many to handle.

With a simple flick of his wrist he threw down a smoke pellet and jumped away, climbing towards the rooftops. He could feel Michelangelo's breath in his neck, slightly pained but his arms were firmly locked around his neck, holding onto him for his dear life. Splinter ran as fast as he could, but he could feel his heart sinking when he heard footbots nearing them again.

"Dad, they're closing on us!" Mikey whispered distressed, too afraid to give away their location. Splinter once again gritted his teeth, he knew his son was right but he had to continue, he couldn't fail his son right now. "DAD!" Mikey suddenly screamed and before he knew a presence neared him. The weight of his youngest son slowing him down too much.

The bony figure collided with him painfully and knocked Mikey off his back, forcing him against the brick wall. Mikey softly cried out but his shell caught most of the damage. Immediately they were surrounded by the footbots once again, more and more seemed to come and what horrified them the most was the sound of robotic legs nearing.

"Throwing a party Bradford?" The koi fish snickered, drawing his small knife. Splinter immediately jumped backwards, right in front of his youngest son. His head was starting to pound slightly from the hit just seconds ago but he shook the thoughts off of him, he had a son to protect, and he couldn't fail him. He would rather die.

"This party is over Fish Face" Rahzar growled and jumped forwards, aiming for Mikey. Splinter angrily punched the side of the mutant, kicking him away from his defenseless son. His youngest was now standing on one leg, and supporting himself with his right hand against the wall, while the other one was holding his nun chucks.

"Dad" Mikey suddenly choked. Splinter's eyes widened when he saw his youngest son, a knife near his throat. One of the footbots had managed to sneak up and press the knife against Mikey's throat. His baby blue eyes were as wide as possible, and he slowly trailed downwards to his belt, pressing the alarm button on his phone, seconds later it was snatched from him.

"It's over Hamato Yoshi, you betters surrender if you want your little one to live" Fish face snickered, stepping forwards together with Rahzar. Splinter narrowed his eyes again, holding the footbots away with his sword. Sweat was trickling down his fur and his head was starting to pound really badly right now, making it hard to concentrate.

"Kare o busō kaijo" Yoshi suddenly snapped, the mutants looked surprised for a second, not knowing a single word of Japanese, or kata's but Mikey immediately understood it, he quickly caught the blade at the hilt and ducked away so the blade wouldn't hit him. He punched the footbot away with his fist and balancing on his uninjured leg.

The footbot stumbled back and Mikey whipped the new-found blade around, cutting the head off the body. Seconds later Splinter jumped in front of him and threw the same smoke bomb once again. Within seconds Mikey was on his back, this time without any protests but still in pain and they were running once again.

He ran as fast as he could, but the dizziness in his head and the fact that he was carrying his son along was slowing him down greatly. He threw another smoke bomb and jumped down the alley, stopping at the fire-escape. He buckled the window but found it locked. His breath hitched as he heard the footbots above him.

"Michelangelo listen to me" He said softly, putting his son down in the shadows so he wouldn't be seen easily. "You have to stay silent, don't make a sound understand?" He continued with a serious tone, he had to be fast or they would discover Mikey too, and he was in no way to continue to fight with his busted leg.

"I understand dad" Mikey said, whining softly and tears appearing in his eyes. "Please be safe, I love you" It was bearable noticeable but Splinter caught the small sentence and softly patted his son, wiping away the few stray tears lingering in his eyes and smiling softly, Mikey returning the smile. His father was strong, the best ninja he knew, he could handle it.

"I love you too, all of you" He whispered back before standing up and walking into the lights, glaring upwards, right into the eyes of Rahzar and Fish face before jumping down the alley, attempting to run as far as he could but his way was soon blocked by footbots. There were 50, maybe 100 footbots, and only one Splinter.

"Where is the little turtle?" Rahzar snickered but Mikey caught the hint of annoyance in his voice, even all the way up the fire escape, halfway the height of the building. He was pressed in the furthest corner, blending in with the shadows around him so he wouldn't be discovered. And yet he wanted nothing more than to go down there.

He could peek down, and he could see his father standing down there with all the enemies in front of him. A lump formed in his throat, there was no way. There were too many, but every time more footbots came, he knocked down more. And every time he knocked down more footbots, more footbots came. And his father was wearing out.

He smiled slightly when his father threw another smoke bomb, climbing upwards, the other side he was. Ending on the rooftop on the other side, and again more footbots joined him. Mikey crept closer to the edge. Rahzar and Fish face were making their way towards Splinter, his sensei, his father. He wanted to scream but he couldn't.

He looked disorientated and wincing from time to time, not noticing Rahzar behind him, carrying the same baseball bat that busted Mikey leg. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his father was hit upside the head, making him stumble and before any of the enemies could even react, his foot stepped on the edge of the building and he fell backwards.

A scream escaped his throat as he fell and Mikey clamped his hand in front of his mouth to prevent himself from doing the same. He never heard the sickening crack of his skull, only the stillness surrounding him. He could hear Rahzar growling, the sounds of footbots but he was numb, staring wide eyes at the place his father once was.

"He's gone, nice going dog. Master Shredder will have our heads" Fish Face snapped, his anger fully directed towards Rahzar. The mutant dog just growled at the koi, walking away. Mikey didn't move for 15 minutes, too afraid to even try. His leg throbbing painfully, and the cut on his plastron already clotted and closed.

Slowly he lifted himself up, he honestly felt numb, not processing what was happening around him. Images of his father flashing right before his eyes, the terrible scream that had been torn out of his mouth when he fell down… He squeezed his eyes shut, tears already threatening to spill from his eyes but he pushed them back.

He winced and whined slightly when he moved his leg but he pushed past it. He got out his kusarigama and wrapped it along the steel pipes, climbing over the railing and slowly lowering himself towards the alley. His eyes widening when he saw the motionless body of his father. Forgetting all the pain he was feeling he stumbled towards his father, his leg screaming in protest.

"D-Dad?" He softly called out, lowering next to him. His eyes were closed and he was laying on his chest. But it wasn't moving, and no breath was coming out of his mouth. There was a visible dent in his skull and Mikey gasped again. "Dad…" He called out, softly poking the cold fur and winced, sitting down and using both hands to roll him on his side.

Still his father remained motionless, the same one that had protected him just minutes ago. One hand beneath his body and one laying on the pavement. Tears filled his eyes as he nudged the body of his father once again, more desperate this time. He couldn't be, he couldn't be dead. Not his father, his sensei. He needed his father, he couldn't be dead.

"Dad.. w-we .. you g-gotta get up" He whispered. "We gotta go home…. Dad" Tears started to stream down his face and his body started to tremble. It was cold, but he didn't feel it. All he felt was numbness washing over him like a strong wave, sudden and hard. A horrible feeling, the aching of his heart and the loneliness.

"H-Help m-me" He whispered, his voice breaking. He didn't even know who he was talking to, all he knew is that he wanted his father. "S-somebody… help.." The last word barely above a whisper as tears streamed down without any way of stopping it. Slowly he crawled forwards and laid down next to his father, under the arm. His body was still warm and he curled himself up to the hairy body, bringing his hands up and crying.

TMNT

A soft hand was placed on his shoulder, nudging him softly. "Mikey?" The voice choked slightly as the hand continued to nudge him, but he refused to look around. The body was slowly turning cold, making it harder and harder to deny the fact that his father.. wasn't here anymore. And while his body was next to him, his spirit wasn't.

"Let's go home little bro" Leo's voice was strained and he had obviously been crying. He felt something underneath his knees and shell, hosting him up gently and avoiding his broken leg. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned towards his oldest' plastron, burying his face into the hard substance, tears once again appearing in his eyes.

It didn't even matter anymore, everything was a blur. The throbbing pain in his leg long forgotten. He wanted to scream, struggle to get away from his brothers. He couldn't leave his father here, he couldn't leave him alone but he was too tired to move a single muscle. He could only continue to cry, unable to stop the tears from rolling down.

The scream, the terrifying scream ringing through his head, again and again. The voices around him began to blur, unable to register anything. His head was bounding painfully but at the same time he felt nothing but numbness. The wind was softly blowing against his body, sending shivers down his spine. He missed the warmth.

The same warmth his father's fur would give when he snuggled close to him, listen to his strong and beating heart. The same beating that had been gone the whole time he laid next to him, but the warmth remained, if only for a couple of minutes, an hour, days, he didn't know. All he wanted was his father close to him again and his heart beating again.

"Donnie?" Leo's voice sounded defeated, so soft and so far away. Yet he knew it was right above him. He was still tightly pressed against his brother's plastron, taking in the warmth of the hard yet comfortable material. It reminded him of the warmth he was surrounded by just seconds ago, his father. He choked on a sob and buried his face in Leo's plastron even more. Automatically the arms surrounding him tightened their hold, pressing him closer.

"Please Leo, don't" Donnie sobbed from the side. The words drilled themselves in Mikey's eardrums. His older brother sounded so defeated and heartbroken. And the worst wasn't the fact that Donnie had obviously been crying badly, it was the fact that Mikey knew why. It was because he was hit by that bat, because he couldn't protect himself, and his father sacrificed himself for him.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, leaving him with spiking pain shooting right through his head. The trip home was a blur, and surprisingly short for which he was grateful. He wanted nothing more than to sleep in his bed, wrap himself up in his blankets and curling up in a pathetic ball, get away from his brothers.

He couldn't stand them, he couldn't stand having them near. If he had only been stronger, his father would've been alive by now. And his father wasn't the only one to pay for his mistake, his brothers had to pay too. They had to live the rest of their lives without their father's guidance, without his training, and without his love.

TMNT

"Is he going to be okay?" Leo whispered as I was softly lowered onto his bed. There was a soft humming noise and footsteps. Seconds later a loud howl of pain escaped my throat as someone was touching my burning leg, pain shooting straight up and spreading through my whole body. Tears jumped into my eyes and I trashed weakly.

There was a soothing hand on my shoulder and I could hear Leo whispering Japanese words into my ear. I took a few calming breaths but opened my mouth again when the same hands touched the wound on my leg again, sending burning pain with every heartbeat. My body shuddered and shocked from the pain and I groaned slightly.

"He will be okay, he didn't strain his injury too much" Donnie explained and moved towards me slowly. "Hey buddy, can you hear me?" Donnie softly mumbled and placed a hand on my forehead. I whined softly at the ice-cold touch but I was too weak to move away, or to move the hand away. Donnie let out a soft sigh before leaving my forehead.

"He's dangerously hot, we need to cool him down but we can't wet his injuries. We need to do this the old-fashioned way" Donnie rambled, his voice slightly nervous. "I'm going to call Raph and say we found Mikey" Leo didn't respond and Donnie left the room, leaving the room deadly silent. I hated it but I had no idea what to say.

"Hey Mikey" Leo whispered before something cold dripped on my arm. I winced and mewed slightly as the cloth traced down my arm, cooling it with ice-cold water. I was too tired and my limbs felt too heavy to move them, so I let Leo rub my arms with the cold water. Slowly the cloth trailed to my neck, continuously refreshing the cloth with new water.

And then it was silent again. The soft breathing of my eldest brother the only thing I could concentrate on, and I hated it. I just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. I felt horrible, my body felt so cold from all the water that was practically rubbed into my skin, I was on my bed, or a bed, without the blankets on top of me.

For some reason I couldn't hear the buzzing sound of my heater. I always turned it on in the winter, and most of spring and fall. I always enjoyed having my room warm, not too warm but a comfortable warmth. All of us loved the warmth, being cold-blooded. But right now it was turned off, and I was freezing right here.

Leo let out a soft sigh as he reached my head, placing the cloth on top of my forehead and leaving it there for a few seconds before refreshing it, placing it right back again. Fast footsteps were heard outside the door and seconds later the door was thrown open, and before I could stop it a low whimper escaped my throat.

"Mikey" I recognized Raph's voice everywhere but unlike his usual tough-guy voice, his voice was soft and filled with hurt and to my surprise not two pair of footsteps entered the room, but three pair of footsteps. By brows knitted together in confusion but my face relaxed immediately afterwards, my energy completely drained.

I winced slightly as my eye was pried apart and a little light was shined right into my eye. I had no energy to protest so I just allowed my immediate older brother to blind me with his light. Seconds later he dropped my eyes and I closed them gratefully, my eye slightly burning from the lack of blinking, and not opening them again.

"What's wrong with 'im?" Raph whispered, the mattress sinking seconds later under his weight. "And why did he run off like that, with his busted leg and all..?" His hand trailed down my arm and I winced again because of the temperature. It was cold, way colder than I remember but yet still comfortable and I immediately had to urge to curl myself into him.

Wanting to shield myself from the rest of them, and yet I couldn't. I could barely move my limbs, even twitching them sent waves of pain through my body and every time someone even ghosted over my leg, or I tried to twitch it I would end up whining in pain again. The third pair of footsteps walked closer, his walk was strained, even in my weakened state I could hear the slight limp.

"His fever is high my son, and it may cause him to be delusional. He can't separate illusions from reality" There was a slight cough before the room went silent, and even I didn't make a noise or a move at all. It couldn't be right, I couldn't be hearing my father's voice. He was dropped down the building, I saw him falling.

I remembered his scream, I remember him falling, and yet I don't. Everything began to blur right in front of me. My temples started to thump painfully and despite my closed mouth, a groan escaped my lips. Immediately a cold hand was placed on my shoulder, rubbing it softly to calm me down. I didn't understand, was I dead?

"Mikey, I know you can hear us. Open your eyes for us" Leo said softly in Japanese. He knew I liked his voice, especially when he talked Japanese. Out of all of us, Leo was the most devoted into speaking Japanese, closely followed by Donnie. Raph didn't really care about learning such a difficult language but I did.

And while I couldn't speak it very well, I could understand everything Leo, or anyone else, said to me. My speech has always been a little bit off in Japanese but I managed. I never really liked to speak Japanese, I preferred to listen instead, listen to Japanese lullaby's, or the comforting words Leo would whisper in my ear whenever I was upset.

"Come one baby bro" Even Raph did it sometimes. It sounded way less fluently, he could barely pronounce the words correctly but he was trying his best just to comfort me, and that was why it always worked. It was something between me and Raph, and he rarely spoke Japanese to the rest of my brothers, he only did it for me, and only on rare occasions.

And besides the weird pronunciation I could still understand my older brother. A low groan once again escaped my parted lips and my eyelids suddenly felt heavy. My eyeballs were twitching and straining themselves to open. The cold hand was placed on my shoulder, rubbing circles again and slowly I parted my eyelids, just barely. The first thing I saw was a blur of blue and red, but not sensei.

"D-da.." I rasped, shocked by the rawness in my throat. Worry washed over me and suddenly the painful throbbing in my leg made itself present again. I whimpered and curled ever so slightly in a ball, hovering my arms over my wounded leg. "…d..ad" I choked softly, tears building up in my eyes and I had no idea why.

"Easy little bro, he's safe, wounded but safe. And all because of you" Leo softly said to me, dipping my forehead in the cold water once again. I didn't listen to him, just continued to cry, my eyes closed again "Dad, what is wrong with him?" Leo's voice barely above a whisper but his concern was clearly shown, he was scared and it was because of me.

"I do not know for sure, but I have an idea" Splinter responded and walked over to me, and placing his paw on my head. "My son, listen to my voice. Can you tell me what you saw before your brothers found you in the sewers?" My eyes almost snapped open in surprise, if it wasn't for the tired and numb feeling all over me.

Sewers? They found me in the sewers? I couldn't remember how I got there, I passed out in the alley, next to…. next to his dead body. I whimpered as the scream rang through my head again, pounding itself into my skull and leaving a dull headache. I whimpered again and slowly pried my eyelids apart again, letting out a sob of relief when I really saw dad standing there.

"…y..ou.. f-fe..ll .." I rasped, struggling to say those words, it hurt but I pushed through. "f..ell.. s-cr..eam.. c-col..d" My eyelids closed again, panting slightly because of those few words I had spoken. A soft sigh was near me before I could feel dad sitting down next to me, the mattress sinking slightly because of the weight but never leaving my head.

"You saw me falling after Bradford hit me on the head.. and I died, am I correct?" Dad said, straight to the point. He swallowed in between the sentence, hesitating slightly to speak those words but it was barely noticeable. I weakly nodded, unable to speak much more, and I honestly had no urge to speak about it more, but I had to know.

"..w-w..ha. h'ppen..ed?" I managed to rasp out but my eyes kept themselves closed. There was a short silence and I could feel my brothers moving around slightly. Seconds later my door, if I was even in my own room, opened and two pair of footsteps left the room, I wanted to open my eyes to see who left but I had no energy left, I could barely stay awake.

"It is alright Leonardo, I will talk to your brother. You are tired" Splinter suddenly spoke before he answered my question. "Training is cancelled for tomorrow while I look after your brother, now go" His voice was stern but there was a hint of humor mixed in it and he chuckled slightly, soon followed by a soft chuckle from Leo.

"Just don't stay up too late sensei, you're still injured after all" Leo said before the door was opened again, leaving me and dad alone in the room. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, begging them to stay awake but I was barely succeeding. I kept drifting off, and the only thing constantly waking me up was the cold cloth that Sensei kept replacing on my head but just barely.

"You fought so brave my son, do you remember what happened yesterday night?" Dad suddenly began and I whimpered softly. Images of the fight flashing before my eyes but they were mixed and blurry so I shook my head, I didn't understand. One time I was walking in the alley and the next moment I saw my dad falling.

And at the same time he never did. Every time he fell the scene would change again, me laying in the sewers, where my brothers apparently found me, Donnie setting my bone at home. And even those were blurry. I was confused, cold and I wanted answers. Dad seemed to notice my distress and dipped the cloth in the cold water once again.

"You told me you saw me dying, I fell off the building because of Bradford" He started, his voice soft and I nodded again. "You are suffering from a high fever my son, yesterday both of us went out to collect some parts for Donatello's new security system, and we were ambushed" He continued and once again I nodded, too weak to even open my mouth.

"You fought hard my son but Shredder has no honor and his henchman aimed for you, breaking your bone and rendering you helpless" I frowned slightly, it was exactly what happened just hours ago, which was supposedly a hallucination. I pried my eyelids apart and stared right into the eyes of my dad and he immediately grasped my hand.

"I helped you to safety but you were bitten by Fish Face before I could do so, Donatello informed me that your fever was in fact caused by that bite, someone had been altering with the venom" I gasped slightly, not knowing how to react really. My right hand twitched slightly, trying to reach for my arm when I suddenly remembered the excruciating bite. It hurt, burned even before purple smoke had surrounded me, and from that moment everything was blurry.

"I managed to get you behind a dumpster and lead them away but unfortunately I was hurt too and I didn't see Bradford coming, I was hit and I fell from the building. Although I managed to catch myself on the way and I landed on the ground without major injuries, your brothers came seconds later, after you pressed the panic-button" He softly explained to me.

"We brought you home and Donatello looked after you, treated your wounds but was unable to stop the venom from spreading and getting a fever this high." He continued softly. "You suffered from fever dreams and ran off this night, we went to look for you and Donatello and Leonardo found you in the sewers close by" he finished and cradled my head softly.

I whimpered and leaned in to his touch, closing my eyes fully now. I made no attempt to open them again. My head was spinning again and I could only hear the pounding in my head and the flaring pain coming from my left arm, where the mutant fish had bitten me. Dad seemed to catch the hint and wrapped his arm around me.

"I know you are confused now my son but this is only temporarily" he whispered in my ear. "You must focus on getting better. Sleep well my son." He said, the last four words in Japanese and I smiled slightly. The cloth was dragged over my forehead one more time before a blanket was placed on top of my body, tugging me in.

Dad planted a kiss on my forehead and wished me goodnight once more before leaving my bed. He never left the room though, sitting down somewhere in the chair where he could watch me without disturbing me with his warmth. But at the moment I didn't care, I just wanted my dad next to me, have him close so he wouldn't go away again.

"S-…stay" I rasped and weakly lifted my hand, barely managing to get it off the bed, and weakly called for him using my hand. There was a short pause before dad let out a soft chuckle. I smiled slightly when I heard him getting up and walking over to me. The first touch of his fur was almost torturous, but I didn't let go, pulling him closer weakly.

It was barely a pull, and dad could have easily pulled away but he didn't. Lifting my blanket and laying down next to me. I groaned slightly as I attempted to curl up against him, I was just too weak to do so but a strong hand on my shell helped me on my side. I was too tired to speak so I happily nuzzled my face in his chest, wrapping myself up slightly.

"I love you my son" Were the last words I heard before I was engulfed with the comforting darkness, my father next to me, protecting me and never leaving my side again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done :D honestly, this was supposed to be a cute one-shot with Mikey and Splinter, and then I saw Lion King again ….but once I killed Splinter I just couldn't do it… So I wrote this.
> 
> Basically Mikey and Splinter were ambushed, Mikey's leg was busted and he was bitten, causing him a delusional fever and Splinter was hit on the head and thrown of a building, but survived. The following night Mikey got a dream where Splinter didn't survive and ran away into the sewers, his brothers found him and took him home.
> 
> Please tell me what you think! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Sweet sleep, my dark angel".
> 
> The person who has caused your pain. You still love them, and in the dark of the night you know you will always love them, even though they have caused you pain. You still wish them happiness and a life of sweetness and joy. You are prepared to suffer through the pain.

I could hear the strained footsteps coming my way. His movements slow and they eventually die out in front of my door. There is a sharp intake of breath and I instantly know who the turtle behind the door is, Leo. Before I can even protest I hear the door softly open, light shining through. I grumble slightly and bury my face in my pillow, the light is almost blinding and I want nothing than shutting the door right now.

"Go away Leo" I grumble, wincing at the sound of my own voice. I sounded so exhausted, so vulnerable and that's exactly how I felt right now, not like I was gonna admit it to fearless. But of course he wouldn't listen, he didn't listen to me, he never did. Not even when I begged him.

"Leo run!" My voice was strained, my throat raspy. Tears burned in my eyes but I bit them back. Blood was dripping down my arm. It wasn't my blood, it wasn't even my blood. Screams were all around me, in my head but also from the fight around me. I could hear Mikey and Donnie shouting at each other but I could not make out the words. Footbots were scattered all around us. But I could only focus on my brother standing in front of me.

"No Raph, we won't leave you, you have to fight it!" Leo screams back at me, his sword pointed at me. My whole frame is trembling and shaking. A scream erupts from my throat as a splitting headache shoots right through my head. I scream, clamping both my hands on either side of my head. Let it stop, I don't want this anymore.

"You're a fool!" I yell, yelling at the blue turtle in front of me. No, Leo run! I try to yell but the control is lost again. Everything is gone. I can feel, I can hear, I can see, I can feel. But I cannot control. I can't do anything. I can only watch to see my own sai slashing towards him. My body trembles as Leo deflects the hit, kicking me in the plastron. I wheeze as pain spread through my body. My body heavily collides with the ground and a groan escapes my throat. It isn't my groan, it's not me anymore. This is the enemy.

"Raph please snap out of it, we need you little brother" Leo whispers, getting a little closer. No Leo, dammit! Go, just go! Just run, take Don and Mikey with you and don't look back. I bare my teeth, glaring at my older brother. My big brother. My body trembling with both pain and exhaustion. Leo move! Before I knew what was going on I lunged at him, my sai slashing his bicep.

A shrill cry of pain is wrenched from his throat and he jumps back, clutching his now bleeding bicep. I gasp and fall to the ground, clutching my head.

"Leo please, I don't want to hurt you. Please just.." I can't finish my sentence. The control only lasts so long. My hands wrap around the handles of my weapon and I jump at Leo once again. He didn't expect it, he wasn't paying attention. Well, he was, but he wasn't paying attention to the virus that was coursing through my blood. And the fact that Shredder was now controlling me.

My foot heavily collides with Leo's plastron. His sea blue eyes go wide for a second before he is forced backwards, sending him into the wall. There is a sickening smash as his head smashes back against the wall and he groans before sliding down, remaining lifeless. Blood dripping down his head, my fault. All my fault. I hurt him.

No… Leo..

I groan softly in my pillow, feeling Leo sitting down next to me, putting a gentle hand on my shell, rubbing it softly.

"Are you okay?" He softly asks, continuing to rub my shell. I snort slightly, pushing my shell upwards to throw off his hands off my shell. Of course he wouldn't take the hint and the hands immediately returns. When we were younger he would always do this, comforting us like a worried mother hen. He would rub our shells until we would calm down again, or he'd let us cry in his arms. But I didn't cry, not when I didn't deserve it.

"Ya asking me that?" I snort in my pillow, refusing to look at him. "I was the one busting your head remember?" I could hear Leo sigh above me, shifting slightly.

"This was the Shredder's doing, don't forget that Raph. None of us blame you" Again I snort, turning myself around despite my resolution not to. My movements were sore, my stomach still protesting as I slowly sit up. I wince slightly when I see his bandaged head and his bicep is stitched. "it doesn't hurt anymore Raph, just a small headache." Leo tries to assure as he sees I'm looking at him.

"Then why'd ya come? Why ain't ya in the lab?" I retort, biting my lip and looking away. I couldn't stand seeing my big brother like this. I never liked it when my brothers got hurt, I always hated seeing them in pain but knowing I was the one to hurt them hurt me beyond any broken bone. It was a constant burning pain right in my heart, eating me away from the inside.

A wave of dizziness washes over me and I fall to the ground again, clutching my head. My vision is swimming, the control is back but I hurt Leo. I lay there panting, trying to suck in enough oxygen. NO, I couldn't be laying here, I had to get away from here before Shredder took over again. I growl and throw my sais into the lake a few meters next to me. I don't want them, those weapons hurt my brother, and I don't want to risk it, I don't want to risk hurting them again.

I stagger to my feet, my whole body swaying from side to side. I want to run towards Leo, check if he's okay but the snicker ringing through my head made me rethink. I cringe, looking around the battle field. Footbots are everywhere. Broken, shattered. They were no match for my two little brothers. But Rahzar and Fish Face were a little tougher to beat. I was on their side, it made me sick. I was with them. I was teamed up with them during patrol. I was fighting alongside the enemy. 4 fucking days.

I shake my head, no I can't stay. I have to get out of here! I grit my teeth, ready to run away when a scream is forced out of my throat. The taunting laugh of Shredder invading my eardrums. No, no, no, NO! I can't give him control, I had to get out of here! But it was too late, I could only scream before my mouth clamped shut. I slowly rose and my eyes locked with Leo's.

I knew how they looked, white. They were completely white. No emotion present in my eyes. Leo brought his hand up to his head, wincing as blood was present on his fingers. It wasn't much, but there was blood. He looks up to me, his eyes pleading, begging for me to stop but I don't stop. My body keeps moving towards him. He's defenseless. His swords are scattered far away from him, he can't get up and I'm moving towards him.

"Raph, stop!"

It wasn't Leo who was yelling, it was my baby brother.

"Because Mikey is asking for you" I let out a short huff of laughter. Leo was out of his mind. Mikey was asking, for me?! Bullshit, I was the reason he was in this state. "It's true Raph, he's asking for you, refuses to let Don work until you're with him" Leo continues, looking over to me with big sea blue eyes, curiosity lingering in his eyes.

"Why?"

My voice was small, vulnerable. Just the two things I never wanted to show. Things I always tried to hide. I was the strong one in this family, the protector. But I've already broken that role already. I didn't protect today, I didn't protect them the last 4 days. No, instead I sided with the enemy. I fought them, I robbed innocent people. I hurt them. I hurt Don, Leo but most importantly, I hurt my baby brother.

I curse, no Mikey please get out of here. Get Leo and Don and get outta here! But of course he wouldn't listen. A flash of orange and his screaming voice is the only warning I get before my legs were taken out. I fall to the ground, face-first and sickening smack was heard, pain spreading through my beak.

"Raph, listen to me. You have to fight it!"

Dammit I'm trying! I want to yell at him but I wasn't control. I want them to get the hell out of here, I want Shredder out of my head. But I can only hope. I'm not in control. I couldn't move my own body. A snarl escapes my throat and I lunge at Mikey. Kid doesn't move an inch. He keeps standing in front of Leo, idiot. He grabs my wrists, twists his upper body and spins me around, throwing me away from Leo. My body stays down, just as confused as I was.

I never knew how strong Mikey actually was, he managed to swing me all the way over here. My head lifts slightly, looking over to my approaching brother. Mikey's eyes were narrowed with determination but his stance was hesitant. He didn't want to hurt me. Dammit Mikey, just hit me, hit me in the head or leave. But of course he wouldn't listen, kid never listens.

"You think you can beat me?" And to my horror I begin to laugh, an insane laugh escaping my throat. "You're weak Michelangelo, you've always been" I snarl, Shredder snarls. Mikey however doesn't seem surprised, and doesn't seem bothered at all. His eyes narrows into tiny slits and he reaches for his nun chucks.

Dammit Mikey MOVE.

He doesn't move, he stands his ground as I lunge at him, my fists ready to strike. But he wasn't there. My body lands again, and Mikey is nowhere in sight. I scream as a kick connects to my shell, forcing me down but when I turn around, nothing's there. I snarl, leaping to my feet and looking around. Mikey is standing a few meters away, looking over to me with a mixed expression. Hurt, confusion, determination. Multiple emotions flash through his eyes.

"Raph, focus. This isn't you" He says, his voice is calm. How the hell can he still be this calm? I am fucking attacking him. Donnie is now fighting Rahzar alone, Fish face is unconscious against the wall, and Leo is fucking bleeding. And I'm here trying to kill my own baby brother. As if I can hit him, kid is too damn fast. He has always been. But I never knew he was this good.

"Mikey" I freeze. It's my voice but it isn't me. It's my voice, the way I speak to my brothers, the way I call out Mikey's name. My voice is calm but pleading, but it isn't me. My eyes lock into Mikey's eyes and for a second he loses his stance, his nun chucks fall to his sides and he loosens his grip slightly but never leaving them. No Mikey don't! it's not me. But he can't hear me.

"Raph?" He whispers, his head tilting to the side slightly. I want to scream, yell, curse, anything to warn Mikey. My pace is slow, torturously slow as I walk over to him. Hit me, kick me, anything! But he doesn't do anything. I come closer to him, each step making my heart bounce. Why isn't he attacking? Why?! I don't understand. And then it hits me, he thinks I'm Raph, the brother that has been gone for 4 days, the brother who would never hurt him. But it isn't me! It's still the Shredder. Mikey run!

My hand reaches for my belt, he notices but he's too late. My hand grabs the hilt of the tanto and I lunge at him. He's fast, but not fast enough. My tanto slashes his arm slightly and he cries out in surprised pain. A sudden kick is delivered to my plastron and I fall down again. The splitting headache shoots through my brain again and I whimper slightly.

"Mikey please run" I spit out through my clenched teeth. My body is trembling and I force myself to look up. My green eyes are back in place and Mikey's eyes widen, still clutching his bleeding arm. His blue eyes slowly trail towards the tiny bit of blood that is now seeping out of his cut, and then back to me, and then to Leo, and then back to me again. And suddenly he takes a deep breath. The kind of breath you take to calm yourself. The kind of breath you take when you wake up from a nightmare. And I don't like it.

"Run please" I whisper, I want to say more but before I know Shredder takes over again. My minds spins and I want nothing more than to hurl at the sight. Mikey is standing there, not moving at all with a confident and yet scared look on his face. He's planning something. He's fucking planning something and I don't know what. Just run Mikey…

"I'm sorry Raphie" He whispers, looking me in the eyes. He doesn't move. I growl at him angrily before jumping at him, he doesn't move. I grab his neck and forces him against the brick wall. He looks at me before I start smashing his shell against the wall, he doesn't move. He doesn't resist, he doesn't struggle. It was like he was completely shut off, the eyes focused on me being the only thing that reminds me he's still there.

"I know you're in there Raphie" He whispers through the pain. I growl again, snarling at him. He doesn't seem afraid, he only stares at me with tears in his eyes. Tears from the pain. And he doesn't move. I drop him and he immediately crumbles to the ground, wheezing and moaning in pain. He doesn't move but it doesn't stop me. I grab his left wrist and place my other hand against his neck, holding it in place.

"I love you Raphie"

"He needs you Raph" Leo responds in a calm voice, but that still doesn't answer it, why? Why does he want me after I hurt him, why doesn't he want Leo or dad to be with him. Heck, Don's with him as well, why does he need me? Apparently I'm like an open book because Leo lets out a long sigh and scoots a little bit closer.

"You're his protector, you know how Mikey gets when something like this happens, he needs someone to hold him" Again I snort but how ridiculous Leo's explanation is I can't help but to tear up. Fuck me. Really it didn't matter anymore. The two thing that defined me were crumbling. I was the protector, I was the strong one.

But after today.. I wasn't the protector anymore. I lost that right, I lost the right to call myself that. I wasn't the protector. I let my tears drop freely right now, I wasn't the strong one. I hurt my little brother when he was down, I used his trust. I wasn't tough, I was a coward. I abandoned him when he asked for me. I left him with Don, I ran away when he called my name.

Two strong arms wrap around my body, pressing me closer to his plastron. The material covering our chests had always been hard, it protected our body like ribs did in human bodies but our plastrons were much stronger than ribs and way thicker. And yet I wasn't bothered by the heart material, never was, and neither were my brothers. My ear was pressed against Leo and I cried silently, listening to his comforting heartbeat.

"I love you Raphie"

That was the last think I hear before my foot collides with his elbow. He bone gives a sickening crack and a sickening scream is forced out of Mikey's mouth. Blood starts to coat my hands and my eyes widen when I see the bone sticking out of Mikey's underarm. I yell as well, letting him go and stumbling backwards. He doesn't move, he wasn't moving. Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK.

I scream and I fall to my knees, clutching my stomach. Blood is all over my hands and drips down on the ground. Mikey whimpers softly but it's strained. No, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I hurt him. I hurt my brothers, I hurt Leo. I hurt Mikey. My stomach contracts and before I know I'm vomiting on the ground. Black ooze leaves my body in endless rivers and is smeared across my plastron. I sob, falling to the ground.

No, I couldn't just wait. Mikey needed me right now. My stomach turns against when I see the black ooze. I remember Stockman forcing it inside of me, screams, pain, I remembered it. All of it. But nothing is compared to the pain I'm feeling right now. I stagger to my feet, running over to Mikey. My stomach turns again. Mikey's face is drained and pale. He is wheezing for every breath and his arm is swelling, the bone sticking out and blood is slowly oozing out.

"I'm so sorry Mikey" I crack, falling to my knees. My hands are ghosting over his body. I don't know what to do. "Hang on baby bro" My voice is weak and sobs threaten to escape. I can't cry, I won't cry. I don't deserve it, I hurt my little brother. I don't want for his answer and gently pick Mikey up. My little brother moans slightly and cracks his eyes open.

I choke. His baby blue eyes are filled with pain and every step I take makes him cringe with pain. But his eyes aren't accusing, they are loving. He is looking at me and when he looks at my eyes a weak smile appears on his face. He shouldn't be, he should hate me, spit in my face, yell at me, hurt me. I hurt him. He shouldn't be smiling, not now. He should be angry with me, he should hate me. He hates me.

Everybody hates me.

Everybody hates me.

"Sssshh, just let it all out" Leo whispers, stroking my head softly. "Mikey doesn't hate you, none of us do. It wasn't your fault" And I do, I let it all out. All the emotions that has been built up inside of me, the inability to express myself for 4 days, the torturous memories of fighting my own brothers, the orders I followed, calling Shredder master, the stabbing guilt, it's all too much and I let it all out.

I cry the least, I rarely cry. Mikey and Don are both my little brothers and I comfort them whenever they cry. It isn't often they are really crying as well but when something bad has happened they cry, a lot. Leo is different. In ways he's like me. Keeping emotions from our younger brothers because we are supposed to be the big brothers, we can't cry. And right now I'm in the arms of my older brother, silent tears streaming down my face.

Eventually I run out of tears. My head feels light and I slowly untangle myself from Leo. I know it hasn't been long, barely a few minutes but I feel strangely at ease. And the same goes for Leo, who is now smiling softly towards me. I let out a huff of laughter and dry my tears with the palms of my hands. He isn't hurt by me pulling away, I rarely let anyone get this close to me in terms of comfort. I rarely show my emotions, I rarely let anyone comfort me like this. It feels strange doing it, but at the same time good for now.

"Thanks Leo" I said, clearing my throat at the hoarseness of my voice. "But if ya dare to tell anyone I'll beat the green off of ya" I said threateningly but Leo once again saw right through me and a cocky grin appeared on his face. I smirked and punched his shoulder slightly.

"Let's get to Mikey first, the anesthetic won't work forever"

TMNT

I wait for a second. Leo is already in the infirmary and I could hear him talking to dad but at the same time my brain couldn't progress the words. I could only stare into oblivion for a few seconds. My heart is beating in my chest and I slowly enter the infirmary. On the side is Mikey on the 'medical bed'. His right arm is draped across his eyes and his right leg is bend at a 90 degrees angle, his foot on the bed. A needle is inserted in his right arm and connected to a sack with clear fluid.

Mikey's face is pale but not as much when I… broke his arm. He's still a little pale but he doesn't look sick anymore. Which is a relief, I hate seeing him in pain. I clear my throat slightly, trying to get Mikey's attention. His arm immediately leaves his eyes and he drops his head towards my side, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Hey Raphie" His voice is rasp and incredibly hoarse. He's in pain, I can tell by his expression. Even despite all the painkillers he's on he's still in pain, of course he is. You fucking broke his arm, you forced the bone through his flesh. And yet he's here, fucking smiling at me. I swallow down a lump in my throat and sit down next to him, taking his right hand and squeezing it slightly.

It wasn't a secret Mikey hated these kind of things. He was tough, even though he didn't always act like he was, but he was. He could withstand as much pain as we could, he wouldn't stop fighting until both his legs were broken or the fight was over, he would keep going to protect his family but the infirmary has always been his greatest weakness.

Ever since the accident with me and Mike in the sewers he's been terrified. Not like he was really going to show his fear, and over the years it died down a little but I could clearly feel his rapidly beating heart through his right hand. We were just 6 when I ran off into the sewers despite Dad's instructions not to, and Mikey followed me.

It ended up with Mikey almost being crushed by a collapsing wall and me shoving him out of the way. I can still remember the excruciating pain I had felt back then. I couldn't move because of the pain, because of the shock. Mikey never left my side, feeling guilty for the incident. He followed me inside the infirmary while I tried to stay strong for him but Dad started to remove every glass shard from my skin I screamed. Long and loud wails of pain erupted from my throat and Mike, Leo and Don all had to keep me down so I wouldn't interrupt Dad while cleaning my wound and stitch it.

He has been scared ever since. Every time it would remind him of my incident, how much pain I had been in, how much I screamed that time. He blamed himself for my injury, and the tear in my plastron. And how much as I hate to admit it, that was also the reason I disliked the infirmary. But I haven't seen myself scream and writhe in pain, my dislike for the infirmary wasn't as big as Mikey's.

"Hey little brother" I croak, rubbing my thumb along his palm. "Why'd ya wait for me? I mean it hurts doesn't it?" I said softly, gesturing to his left arm. From the corner of my eye I can see Don moving towards Mikey's left arm, dad at his side. Leo stays at the end of the bed, looking over to me and Mikey while Donnie starts cleaning the wound again. I know he did it before because it was his number one rule, clean the wound first, but he's being extra careful.

"It's throbbing slightly but it doesn't hurt that much." He shrugs but stiffens as Donnie takes his left arm. I can see right through his lie, I know he's in pain right now, and it's more than a 'throb' but yet manageable seeing the smile on his face. But that's Mikey, hiding his pain so I wouldn't feel guilty. I snort mentally, as if looking at the bone sticking out of his flesh wouldn't bring me any guilt.

"Raph, I want you to sit on the bed and let Mikey lean against you in sitting position. Leo I want you to hold his upper arm next to his body, do not let it move okay? Dad I want you to pull his wrist with a slow, steady force until I saw you can stop. Got it?" Donnie orders as he's done cleaning the wound.

We all nod and together with Leo I gently help Mikey up. He's a little out of it because of de drugs but he happily leans against me, nuzzling against my plastron. Leo hands me a blanket and I wrap it around Mikey's body but avoid his broken arm. Leo then hooks his arm around Mikey's upper arm like some kind of headlock position to keep his arm in place while Dad slowly started to apply pressure on the wrist, straightening the bones so Don could eventually align them again.

The whole process took a little under 5 minutes. I was just glad Mike was on heavy painkillers right now because it would've hurt a lot, even now it was still hurting him. It's more than a gentle throb but the way he's taking at calms me down a little. Okay my arm is probably bruising right now because of his death-grip but he was tolerating it. He was occasionally twitching and it was sure he was getting uncomfortable with Dad applying constant pressure like that, but other than that he seemed okay.

Mikey was going to be okay.

TMNT

"Why'd ya let me hurt you Mikey? I mean ya weren't moving" I whisper, looking at him with curious eyes. My arm was wrapped around Mikey's figure, being careful with his left arm and Mikey was pressed close to me. His right shoulder poking against my side. The lights were already turned off, leaving us in the dark. Though I could see a bit.

A smile spread on Mikey's face and he nuzzled his face in my plastron, wriggling slightly to find a comfortable position. We all knew Mikey could never sit still, even when he slept. He would always shift and move in his bed, sleeping in impossible positions but obviously that wasn't an option right now with his busted arm, because I broke his arm.

"Because I watched you while fighting. Yesterday when we fought you, you knocked Don away, and that's the first time you managed to take control again if only for a few seconds. And today it got worse, every time you hurt us you snapped out of it, but just for a few seconds.. So I figured that.. well if I did that.." His voice died down a little, but he didn't have to talk anymore.

I knew what he was saying. I have to keep myself from cursing out loud. I knew what he wanted to say, he let me hurt him so I would snap out of it. He sacrificed his life to save mine. He was willing to get hurt, that's why he took that breath, to calm himself down. To calm his mind before the inevitable pain, because it may be his last breath ever. I could feel the stabbing guilt returning, making me tense again.

"Don't blame yourself dude, it was my choice. I'm just glad to have you back big brother. It was worth it" he whispers, pulling the blanket up to his chin to emphasize the point. He's still here, Mikey's still with me. Even after everything I'd done.

"Thanks for saving me little brother" I thank him, curling slightly around his body, pressing him even closer. "Just don't do it every again, I can't lose you, any of you" I add with a soft voice, barely loud enough for him to hear but he does. He chuckles tiredly but he doesn't respond anymore. Don had given him some painkillers so his arm wouldn't hurt him that much but it was making him tired.

He managed to stay awake so long but as soon as I heard his steady breathing against my plastron I knew he had fallen asleep. I smile slightly, closing my eyes before falling asleep as well, Mikey safely tucked in my arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it, my first (second?) drabble. I was just so excited for the Dark Raph episode because I was sure they were going to do a Raph/Mikey bonding scene or something.
> 
> Dammit Nick, you had one job. One job.
> 
> Of course they had to go with Raph being gone for like a quarter of the episode and of course Leo had to snap him out of it. Seriously, this was the perfect moment to pull off some much needed brotherly fluff/hurt. I get that they can't show blood or anything.. but c'mon. Other cartoons are way more violent at times. So it's not that…
> 
> I just hope there will be more Raph and Mikey focus in future episodes.
> 
> And I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^
> 
> See ya!


	3. Chapter 3

Breathe in, breathe out. Slowly. Imagine your mind drifting, dethatching itself from your own body. Relax yourself, do not worry. My fingers tighten slightly, the anxious feeling yet again returning. C'mon focus, breathe in, breathe out. Relax yourself, do not worry. A soft groan escapes my lips before I can stop it and my eyes snap op as another image of dad fills my mind.

Tears stung behind my eyes but I bit them back, slamming myself back into a meditation stance. Breathe in, breathe out and relax yourself. Focus on your breathing and nothing else. Let your worry leave your body, feel the flow in your body. Slowly I could feel myself drifting again, my mind slowly turning black again. I smiled softly, the familiar numbness surrounding me.

"Leo?"

My eyes immediately snap open when that voice rang through the dojo. My head spins slightly at the sudden loss of concentration. My eyes slowly trail towards the entrance of the dojo, a glare on my face. My face however softens when I see the tear stricken face of my youngest brother. His eyes are red and puffy and tears are falling down his cheeks.

"How many children have lost their dad?"

The question comes out of nowhere and a lump forms in my throat. My mind racing. I don't want to tell him this, but at the same time I know I can't shield him from reality. I can't lie to him now, I can't bear telling him dad died later on. But I can't bring myself to let him lose hope either.

"Many children still have their dad Mikey, losing your dad isn't something that occurs a lot" I say, cringing slightly as the words leave my mouth. He's too gentle, too caring to lose his dad yet. And so are we. We are only 9 years old, barely old enough to care for ourselves. We can't even find our own food, and that is already showing.

Mikey wouldn't be able to handle father's death. And he isn't, yet. He can still be out there, that's what I told myself the first night. The second night I told myself, forced myself to believe it. The third and fourth night I lost that hope but I couldn't show my brothers, especially Mikey, he's too gentle. Ever since we were younger he had cared for us.

It was like he could feel our emotions and pain. Every time one of us would get sick he would know even before we would, he would stay with us till we got better. He knew our emotions, he knew when we were lonely, or sad and he would always cheer us up when he noticed. Dad's disappearance has been hard on all of us, but especially Mikey. He cared too much.

"Leo I did something bad"

He speaks after a short silence. Worry is replaced by confusion and I slowly stand up, ignoring my protesting limbs. I cautiously scan my baby brother's body, wincing at the skinniness. It had been four days already. My stomach tightens slightly at the thought of food but I force myself not to think about it. Instead I walk over to my brother.

"What's wrong bro?" I softly ask, placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder. The 9 year old slowly looks into my eyes, his baby blue eyes twinkling with fear. I can see his fears, I know his fears. It's dad. Only the thought made me wanna cry, tears once again burning behind my eyes. But no, I can't cry. I'm the oldest here, I have to look after my brothers now dad can't.

"I did something bad"

He repeats himself, tears still streaming down his face. Worry fills me again. Mikey cries a lot but never like this. He cried when Raph got severely injured, he cried the night dad didn't return, and now he was crying again. Something bad happened like Mikey said.

"What did you do Mikey?" I press but Mikey shakes his head, wiping away the tears with the back of his hand. Instead of opening his mouth he reaches for my wrist, wrapping his tiny fingers around it and turning around. I made no effort to pull away from my youngest brother and followed him on my own. Mikey's form was trembling while he led me towards his room.

He silently pushes his door open and leads me inside, closing the door and turning on the light. He didn't utter a single word and lets his shoulders drop in shame, disconnecting his hand from my wrist. I'm too shocked to respond to his guilty behavior, my eyes wide and looking around his room.

"Mikey what is this?" I stutter slightly, looking over to the corner of Mikey 's room. Two bright yellow eyes look at me, an orange fur coting the small and clearly malnourished body. I wrinkle my beak slightly, blood filling my nose. Blood coats the cat's front paw. But that isn't the only thing, on his bed is a large box with a rat inside, desperately trying to get out of the box.

And then Mikey breaks down. He crumbles to the ground and starts to sob. Tears are once again rolling down his face and his breathing is strained like he is having difficulty taking in enough oxygen. I force myself to look away from the animals and fall to my knees next to my little brother, wrapping my arms around him and gently stroking his shell in an attempt to calm him down.

I can feel my plastron staining with tears but I pay no attention to them, I can only think about the reason my little brother is upset, I didn't know. It didn't add up. His question about dad, the hurt animals that were in his room, his smell, I didn't understand.

"Mikey why are these animals here…?" I ask after a few minutes once I notice that Mikey is calming down a bit. My little brother chokes back a sob and untangles himself from my hold, embarrassment filling his face. It isn't the same expression he has when he wet his bed when he was 3 or something, no, this is real embarrassment, regret.

"On the TV t-they always h-have a … a dad." He starts with a shaky voice. "B-But there was t-this b-boy who d-didn't have one… but t-that was only one. I only k-know one boy w-who has lost h-his dad"

I frown, still not knowing what was going on, why Mikey had these animals, and why he was asking me these questions. No skip that, I knew why he was asking me these questions. He wanted to know if dad would ever come back to us, if he was still alive out there. But that didn't answer the question 'why did he have all these animals?'.

"Y-you said there i-is a small c-chance that y-you lose your dad… and I-I only know one b-boy who lost his d-dad…" He gnaws at his lip slightly, unsure what to say next and he is obviously getting really uncomfortable. Something that doesn't happen really often.

"I-I don't know anyone w-with a dead cat …and a dead f-father."

And then it hits me like a ton of bricks being thrown right into my face. He was going to.. kill those animals to diminish the possibility of dad dying. He knows someone who has lost his dad, but nobody who lost a pet and a dad. He wanted to… oh god. Did he….? I can't finish my own thoughts.

"I-I couldn't L-Leo… I f-found the c-cat like this.. and c-caught the rat… I just .. I couldn't k-kill them. I c-can't…b-but d-dad.." he was definitely hyperventilating right now, his eyes wide with fear. "I d-don't k-know what… w-what to.. d-do" He said, gasping as his lungs were unable to take in enough oxygen. His hands flew to his chest, squeezing it for his dear life.

"Sssshh, it's going to be alright little brother.. everything will be fine" I shushed him, rubbing his shell slightly. Worry was beginning to fill me again. Mikey was heartbroken, I could see it. Dad's absence had hit him badly, bad enough for him to do this. But even so, he could never kill someone, he could never kill an innocent animal.

I pressed Mikey closer again, forcing him against my plastron. Mikey always liked snuggling close to my plastron, listening to my heartbeat. It comforted him he always said, listening to our heartbeats. Because that's how he knows we'll be there for him, watching over him and protecting him. It always worked in the past, and I know it will help him this time as well.

Mikey's breathing was still labored and he was still close to hyperventilating. And for a second I feared he was having another asthma attack, the ones he used to have when we were younger but luckily that wasn't the case. I sighed as I felt his warm breath against my plastron, steady and even. Slowly I pulled away again, tipping his chin up slightly.

"Listen Mikey, this is how we're going to do it. We release the rat, and Donnie will look after the cat okay? And when dad comes back he'll decide if you can keep it or not. Deal?" I say, biting my lip slightly as well. Mikey nodded with tears in his eyes and carefully made his way over to the cat, who meowed pitifully.

"Leo…" My little brother suddenly said as he approached me with the injured cat in his arms. "I … I didn't hurt her. I f-found her like t-this. She.. she would've died if I-I hadn't found her" He eventually stuttered, shame present on his freckled cheeks. I smiled slightly as I took the box with the rat, using my other hand to pat Mikey slightly.

"Don't worry Mikey, I know you would never hurt her" I said with a smile. Even though he had a rat and a cat in his room, I knew he would've never hurt them, let alone kill them. His heart is too big for him to do such a thing. A small smile grew on his face as we both walked outside the room. The cat in his arms meowed slightly again and I felt a twinge of guilt knowing he was still in pain. But I was glad Mikey found her, this way someone would make her better again, and she wouldn't die alone, or die at all.

I quickly called for Don to come meet me in the pit, ordering him to take his medical kit with him as I swiftly freed the rat. The creature shrieked slightly before quickly running off. I shook my head slightly before walking back to the pit, smiling when I saw Donnie patting the orange cat in Mikey's hands while carefully cleaning his bloodied claw.

The cat sometimes meowed in pain, struggling slightly but for the most part she stayed perfectly still. Once the blood was washed away Don carefully wrapped some bandages around it, smiling slightly at his work. It wasn't a secret Don studied medicines, or tried to with the limited resources we had and he always wanted to bandage our cut and bruises, even if they were minor.

He had tried to learn how to do stitches recently but he had still trouble figuring out how to hold the tiny needle with his fingers. Our fingers were a lot bigger than human fingers. But he was getting the hang of it. I didn't really approve of the fact that Donnie, at the age of 9, would be doing stitches but with our looks we didn't really have a choice, though I knew that if Don managed to learn it, he would teach us just in case.

Dad has warned us about the dangers topside, he taught us how to fight back in case we were in danger. Humans were dangerous because we were different, though that wouldn't stop us from wanting to go topside. And one day things might go wrong and we would need Donnie. Things aren't all fairytale in our life, dad's sudden disappearance being proof.

"Leo… do you think dad is still alive?"

I could feel my stomach turning slightly at the sudden question. Don's auburn eyes were beaming at me, waiting for me to assure him dad would come home soon, that he was still alive. Problem was, I couldn't tell him.

"I don't know Don, but we can't lose hope" I sigh, not wanting to tell Don the truth, that Dad might be dead and we would have to look after ourselves. "Hey Don, please don't cry" I say, my eyes widening slightly as I saw the tears starting to stream down his face. I instantly wrap my arms around my younger brother, forcing Mikey into the hug as well.

We don't say anything, we only hold each other to comfort each other. I blink slightly when I feel something touch my arm and I smile when I see that Raph has his arms wrapped around me, squeezing Don and Mikey between us, me and Raph forming a protective barrier around our two little brothers. He looks away slightly but I can see the tears welling up as well, I know he's just as upset as we are, he doesn't want to lose his dad.

"He fell asleep" I suddenly hear Raph chuckle after a few minutes and I smile slightly when I see that Don's eyes are closed, his cheeks stained with tears. "Why don't we sleep here like we did when we were young?" He questions, looking up to me. I nod with a smile and change my hold on Don slightly so Mikey could crawl out it.

"C'mon squirt, let's get the blankets and pillows" Raph calls out, nudging Mikey slightly. The freckled turtle is still a bit down but a smile tucks at the corners of his lips and he immediately jumps up, running after Raph towards the bedrooms.

I snicker slightly, we always did this when we were younger, especially when one of us was sick. We would always make a nest in the middle of the pit. I really don't know why we picked the pit instead of our rooms but Donnie told me it was because of our turtle instincts, and some speech that I didn't understand. Point was, we always made a nest when we were either upset, hurt or sick.

I waited patiently for Raph and Mikey to come back with the blankets while I held Don close to me. Eventually my two brothers came back with a whole load of blankets, and with the three of us we quickly made a nest in the middle of the pit. Mikey and Don were in the middle, Mikey curled up against Don's plastron while Raph and me were on the outside.

"Y'know Leo… I don't think father is dead" Mikey suddenly said as we were all snuggled close to each other. "Not many people have a dead father. But no one has a dead father.. and such amazing brothers….. I love you guys" he said, the suffocation sadness he carried around in his voice a bit less, but it was still there.

A mumble of 'I love you too' was heard through the pit before exhaustion took over and we all fell asleep.

TMNT

Everything was burning but the pain wasn't as bad as before. I was worried, anxious even. I didn't know what to expect when I came back. The large cut on my leg was healing and I luckily dodged that chance of infection. My foot was still broken though and I had trouble getting inside the lair with the gates in front of it, but I managed.

My sons, that's what kept me walking. I mentally hit myself for leaving my children alone so long. But I had no other option. Even despite all my training I could not win against the current that swept me away, I could not win from the broken bone that forced me down on the ground again. But that never stopped me from trying.

My fur was a messy and my kimoto was a shredded mess. Dirt was all over my wet fur. My throat was burning due to thirst, but my sons were my top priority. I barely even remember that last 4 days. The last thing I know was being dragged inside the strong current, only to wake up on the other side of the city with a broken arm, a broken foot and a huge gash in my left leg, the food I had collected for my sons long vanished.

All worry seemed to wash away when I looked inside the pit, seeing all of my sons piled up. Michelangelo and Donatello were both on their plastron snuggled close. Donatello had his arm around Michelangelo's neck, pulling him closer. Leonardo was laying with his plastron on Donatello's shell while Raphael was curled around Michelangelo's body, his hand reaching over the pile to reach Leonardo's hand, which was also stretched towards Raphael, meeting each other on top of my two youngest.

I had problem tearing my eyes away. My sons, four long days I have missed you dearly. Every night I missed you so much, asking myself if you were still safe. With difficulty I tear my eyes away, walking over to the shower with painful steps. I hiss slightly as the warm water hit my fur, washing away all the dirt and blood but I endure it. Within seconds I'm clean enough and I step out of the shower, taking a clean kimoto.

I take a large gulp of water, finally after days having clean water again. My throat immediately stops with burning, and my stomach settles a bit. I take another gulp before leaving the bathroom and hobbling straight to the pit, still feeling pain with every movement. I lay down next to my sons and curl myself around them, my tail curling protectively around. Looking at the small orange cat that was curled up against Michelangelo's head.

I shook my head with a soft snicker, he would need to explain himself tomorrow but for now I stayed with them, watching over them and vowing myself never to go away again. I would watch over them from now on.

My sons, I have returned. I think with a small smile. I will stay with them as long as I can, and nothing will come between us. They won't have to live with a dead father as long as I'm here.

Not a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was inspired from this book I read when I was younger 'Een kleine kans' (a small chance).
> 
> It's was a really beautiful book, but because it's a drabble it may be a bit weird. But the book is really beautiful, when I was 8 that is xD It really shows how the mind of a child works, and how they seek connections and explanations in the weirdest ways. 
> 
> Hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hai guys! I'm back again :D I've been MIA for awhile because I was in Spain as you may know. Though I did manage to gain a cold..(in Spain o.O) So that's why updates won't be as soon as I planned because I"m still having quite a bad headache, but I think (and hope) it'll be gone tomorrow, so I can finally get back to writing my story's. I wrote this on my phone during the holidays, and it's for a competition on DA: ABC Contest Challenge, I had the word 'Open minded'
> 
> Hope you like it!

Again. It had happened once again. And this is exactly the reason why I despise humans. Every day it's the same old damn story. 'People killed' 'bombing at local church' it wouldn't stop. Every day more people die because of one reason. It isn't hunger, nor a huge disease somewhere around the world. No the only freaking reason is religion.

"I can't believe it"

My voice is rough and clearly irritated. There were so many things I didn't understand about humans, how they acted, their habits etc. but this was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard, killing someone over religion. It's good ta be devoted but seriously, killing someone for someone who supposedly lived 2000 years ago was and is just ridiculous.

"What's wrong Raphie-boy?"

My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden cheerful voice, belonging to non-other than my baby brother. I grumbled slightly, wrapping my arms over each other and wincing slightly at the twinge of pain it gave me. Within the second, Mikey jumps down next to me, sitting on the couch with a curious expression, a smile on his face. Great, just what I needed.

"Humans" I grumble, quickly turning off the television. I knew I was being over protective right now, heck We were all 16 but still, I didn't want Mikey to hear and see what was going on. Mikey didn't reply, only looking at me with a cocky grin yet his eyes were questioning.

All of my brothers knew how I despised humans. April and Casey being an exception. I just didn't trust them, and it was because of them we were forced to hide. They never thanked us for saving their asses, in fact they only ran away screaming 'freak' or some other insult. Heck even April screamed when Donnie rescued her from the Kraang, and Casey attacked me at first.

"More people got killed 'cause of religion" I eventually clarify, noticing that Mikey was still waiting for an answer. I couldn't lie, I despised those humans, thinking they were everything, and could do everything, including killing. But even despite that anger I couldn't generalize them, they weren't all bad, Casey and April being the perfect example. And I couldn't hate all humans, in fact I hated it when innocent people died.

"I've seen it as well." Mikey answers, his smile fading and frown forming on his face. It surprises me a little, of course I knew Mikey cared for those humans in a way, he never liked it when innocent people died. I didn't like it as well, which is why I helped them every night but still, I never expected this reaction from my little brother. But the thing that surprised me as well was the fact that Mikey watched the news. I never expected him to be up to date with the news, especially with the killing part.

"Ya watch the news?" I question, looking at my little brother with disbelief. A huge grin spreads onto Mikey's face and he huffs slightly, waving his hand in my face. I glare slightly and lean backwards slightly so his fingers don't accidently prod my eye or something, but before that happens he withdraws his hand again.

"I'm hurt" Mikey grins putting his hand on his plastron, right above his heart. "But as a matter of fact, I do. Not very much but with the whole religion thing going on I watch it more regularly" he explains to me. I nod slightly, not really wanting to lengthen this conversation, but apparently Mikey had other plans.

"Did you hear two more people were executed this morning?"

The question comes out of nowhere, and for a second I'm thinking he's making a joke. A stupid and un-funny joke. But his face is dead serious, his eyes staring ahead without really focusing. And he was clearly thinking.

And why the hell does he even know that? Honestly I know he's 16, but he shouldn't watch anything like that. They posted fucking videos of those executions. But it isn't my job to tell him that, he's just as old as the rest of us, I can't tell him that he can't watch something.

"It's ridiculous. If everyone would just think rational then no one has to die" I grumble, taking my eyes of the unusual sight of my little brother. It's seriously creepy how different he looks. He's usually goofing off, always wearing that bright smile of his, the smile we all loved I might add. Don't get me wrong, Mikey is smart even if he doesn't show it often.

I know Mikey can be smart in his own way, I know he isn't the goofball he acts like, but that's because I know him, I grew up with him. He doesn't like being serious. Our whole life we were already forced to be serious because we were different, to society that is, dad was constantly hammering how we were in danger. And while we were relatively safe in the sewers, we were constantly in danger because of the humans.

Mikey was the one that kept us laughing, and our lives bearable. He doesn't like being too serious, because according to him our lives already are. But beneath that is an incredibly smart turtle. Not smart like Don, but he's smart on his own. He doesn't copy information, he makes it up. Even with training, he rarely follows Splinter's kata's, he always adds something. Something that makes it his.

"Yknow Raph, you can't just say that. A lot of people truly believe in God" was Mikey's immediate response. It surprises me a little. He almost sounds... Offensive. Like he's accusing me, which he is. Though I never expected him to be so offensive about such a comment.

"Seriously Mike, have ya really seen the news?! Millions of people are dying every day, hunger, sickness and those murders. Where's God, who protects them?!" I snap, jabbing an accusing finger at Mikey's plastron. Mikey however doesn't even flinch. Because he knows my anger isn't directed towards him, and it isn't. I'm just so pissed right now, surprise. All those people dying, while 'God' doesn't do anything.

"Well then I don't believe in Donnie either" Mikey simply says, making me blink in disbelieve. Did he really just say something like that, what did that even mean?!

"Don's our doctor, but explain to me why we still get injured, why we sometimes need to stitch ourselves And why you are stuck on the couch with a busted arm right now" he continues, gesturing to my splinted arm. I roll my eyes in annoyance. Of course he had to bring THAT up.

"First of all, Rocksteady had one lucky blow. Second of all, what the hell Mikey?! Don's doing everything he can. He ain't no magician nor can he help all of us all at once, and some things are just too big for 'im. Seriously, how is this relevant to the topic?" I shout in frustration, glaring at Mikey. My little brother isn't even a tiny bit surprised. Maybe because my arm is still throbbing from when Rocksteady popped my elbow out of its socket, and maybe it is because he knows I won't attack him this easily.

"Because Donnie is God" Mikey says with a shrug, like it's normal to compare your older brother to someone like that. It's one thing he talking nonsense, but the thing that pisses me off the most is the fact that he is dead serious about his statement.

"Think about it Raph. God isn't a magician and he certainly can't help 8 billion people at once. Some things are just too big for him but he's doing everything he can. Just like Donnie. Sometimes two of us gets injured, and someone will help Don. But that's okay because we know he does everything he can. God is doing everything he can, sometimes it's just too much, or too big. And sometimes he'll need help as well"

I want to open my mouth to say something but Mikey beats me to it, already continuing with his sentence before I can even interrupt him, but I couldn't muster the energy to do so, too surprised by Mikey's words.

"If one of us would die, would you blame Don for not saving him?" He adds, turning his head towards me.

"Of course not. There's always a possibly some thug gets a lucky shot and we die instantly before Don can help us. Or the damage is too much." I explain, keeping my eyes narrowed. A sudden grin spreads on Mikey's face and the playful twinkle appears in his eyes again. Without a word he stands up, walking out of the pit before whispering something in my ear.

"Don is God"

And before I can even respond, he's gone.

TMNT

As I stand in front of my little brother's door I could actually feel myself being nervous. I had no problem fighting a whole army of footbots, battling the Shredder; just go, fighting mutants. I didn't mind. But confronting my little brother after the little talk we just had... Yes I was actually feeling nervous.

I shouldn't be, he's my little brother and I shouldn't be afraid to say anything to him but I couldn't change what I was feeling right now. I have no idea how long I had been standing here but I knew it must've been long when the door suddenly opened, revealing the orange masked turtle I know as my little brother.

"You planning on doing anything soon?" He swiftly remarked, cocking an eyebrow. Despite the whole conversation we just had, the serious one I might add, he was now smiling and cracking jokes like he always did, how I knew my little brother.

"I wanted ta talk" I say with a shrug, entering the room as Mikey holds open his door as an invitation. He silently closes the door behind him, walking straight to his bed. I sit down on the same spot I always sit on next to his bed, looking over to Mikey with a curious expression. My little brother makes himself comfortable on his bed, sitting with his shell against the side wall, one leg stretched and the other one drawn to his chest.

"Do you believe in a God?"

The question came unexpected, even for me even though I was the one asking the question. It had nagged me the whole time after the conversation I had with Mikey. But even though I wanted to ask him this question, I never meant to ask it like this. During the conversation he was still very... Well he kept the conversation light, but it was like he was truly offended, and he was truly being offensive with me. Maybe there really was something I didn't know about my little brother. I knew him, or at least I thought I knew him. Was my little brother really religious?

"Yes and no" was his response after a second of thinking. I sighed out of annoyance, really not wanting to play this game again but yet again, Mikey was bearing a straight face, completely serious and deep in thought.

"What do ya mean Mike, it is a yes or a no?"

This time it's Mikey who shrugs a bit, directing his gaze towards me.

"I do believe but not like you think. I do believe there is someone resembling God up there but I don't believe in the Bible because it was made my humans"

The answer was unexpected, no skip that I already expected him to believe something after his attitude but I never expected this answer. Shit this was confusing, what did it even mean?

"The Bible is written by humans and has changed during the years so I don't follow it" He adds with another shrug, noticing my confusion and irritation. "I don't pray either if you're wondering, or any of the stuff others do. I just believe there's someone watching me, all of us but I don't believe he can change the world or anything."

After the sentence leaves his mouth I immediately gaze downwards, staring at my foot and my mind wandering off to the conversation I had with Mikey just hours ago. I haven't read many books, that wasn't my thing but one of the few books I've read once wrote about guilt, and how it felt. The author described it as a stabbing guilt going right through your heart, the I-person wanting to do nothing more than to undo his action, do anything to take back what he has done it said but knowing there was no way to correct his mistake. Only leaving the option to think about what he has done wrong, the stabbing guilt never leaving.

At the time I had snorted while reading that part, not believing any word of it, but right now that is exactly how I felt. Guilt stabbing me over and over again. The moment the sentence left Mikey's mouth, the moment he confessed he did believe, the moment I realized I made fun of his religion.

And suddenly, out of the blue, Mikey began to laugh, doubling over and holding his stomach in joy.

"No way dude, tell me you're not feeling guilty about our conversation" He giggled, his face turning a slight shade of red as he continues to laugh and giggle, eventually settling a bit but still keeping a huge smile on his face. "Raph, the reason I was being offensive wasn't because you made fun of my religion or anything. Trust me" he adds quickly, only confusing me in the process.

"It's not? But I practically said ya were nuts by believing" I retort, looking over to my little brother. The innocent little brother, the little brother I didn't know after all. How didn't I know that he was religious?

"Dude, maybe you did but I don't care. Every one can say what he thinks, as long as you don't beat some sense into me" He jokes, trying to lighten the mood, which surprisingly worked. "Besides I kinda agree with you, not with the rational thinking, but I think people rely too much on God. He isn't a magician like I said and he can't help you with everything. But of course that's what I believe" he adds, the joking gesture suddenly gone but at the same time the conversation isn't too serious, for which I'm grateful.

"As long as you don't try to tell people what is right or wrong, it's okay. I don't care if you don't believe, I respect that choice as long as people respect mine" He adds after a second of silence.

"Why haven't you told me before, or any of us?" I eventually ask, after struggling to find my voice again. Mikey sighs a bit, averting his gaze and looking somewhere else.

"I don't know Raph, I never thought it was worth mentioning y'know. Dad knows though, but it's not like my religion changes something. Like I said, as long as people don't get physical, I'm okay with people not believing, or believing something else because that's completely okay, but you have to respect each other, and the differences. That's why I can't accept those killings. They are committed to their belief and that's good, but you can't force anyone, and it's not okay to do so. You don't need to add others to your religion. As long as you believe yourself their God will protect them"

I gnaw at my lip slightly, my brain rattling as it desperately tries to process what Mikey just said. We've had many things that were too unbelievable, or things that were just too much to progress, us coming from some green glowing stuff, other mutants, aliens on earth, traveling to other dimensions. But finding out that your little bro is religious after 16 years of knowing him is something I just can't process.

"What does being religious mean to you?" I eventually ask. Even though I'm not religious, and I won't ever be, I want to know what it means to my little bro. I know dad is somewhat religious, with the way he was raised but he didn't force us to believe as well, and none of us really believe. At least that's what I thought.

"Nothing actually. Like I said, I don't pray or anything. I just believe there's someone up there watching me, male, female I don't know. And I don't believe he or she can do something fancy, he's just there, watching over all of us. As long as we treat each other with respect, he or she will be there for us. But dad already taught us that part." He says, still not looking at me but I can see he's thinking. His face scrunches up for a second and an unknown emotion crosses his face before fixing his gaze on me again.

"That's why I can't accept those killings, there's a lot I don't understand or agree on with other religions but they believe something dearly it so it's okay, after all, who am I to decide what's real? But I can't accept that they kill or threaten other people to get them to believe in their religion."

A comfortable silence spreads throughout the room and I'm grateful for the sudden pause. It was all too much to progress at once. Mikey being religious, and even though he beliefs something, he was perfectly okay with me judging his religion. As long as you accept my religion, and yet that was the thing I didn't do a few hours back.

"Raph, stop blaming yourself about that comment okay?" Mike eventually breaks the silence, looking at me with a kind expression, seriously, how did he know?! "The only reason I was being offensive is because of your reaction. There are people who truly believe, and the only reason innocent die because of religion, is because people can't accept other believing something else. I wasn't offended in any way dude" he clarifies, waving his hand slightly.

I close my eyes for a moment, shaking my head slightly before opening my mouth again.

"First of all bonehead, never keep something like this from me again okay? Even if it isn't 'worth mentioning'" I say, emphasizing the last 2 words, causing Mikey to smile shyly. "Second of all; shit Mike, when did you get like this? When did you start thinking like this, respecting each other and all. How can ya respect someone who believes the complete opposite" I add, but unlike the content, my voice isn't offensive in any way and by the growing smile on Mikey's face I can tell he knows it as well.

"Very simple dude" He breathes, a sly smile appearing on his face. "You just have to be open minded"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! Please tell me what you think!
> 
> Mikey's belief was actually inspired by one of my best friends. Her family is really religious.. like really really religious. But she doesn't believe because she thinks that the Bible, because it was made by humans, isn't the word of God. And she told me that her family is perfectly okay with that, because that's what she believes, and her family knows that God will still love her, and them, even though she doesn't strictly follow the Bible.
> 
> That's also what inspired me to do this, because religion is such a big issue at the moment, and I just feel like it doesn't matter. If someone wants to believe something, someone who believes something else shouldn't forbid him/her from doing so. As long as you believe, it doesn't matter what other people say or believe.
> 
> It's all about respect and being open minded.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How much I loved the fact that Raph kept watching Leo back when he was unconscious, and he was with Leo when he woke up, it didn't really make sense. Of course they all love each other so much, but Don was the one to yell at Leo…. And for me it's more logical for Donnie to watch over Leo when he was in a coma, and when Leo woke up.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"There's gotta be another way, we need to establish a second base, outside the city"

"There's no time for that Leo. The turtle mech is solid."

"Left! That'll lead us to the turtlemech"

"No we gotta find Raph and Casey first"

We can find them in the mech!"

"It's too slow"

"You're the one who's too slow, you're leading us into disaster"

"I'm doing what Splinter would want us to-"

…

Leo never had the chance to finish that sentence, he was never able to say what he wanted to say, he never managed to finish his order. Because the moment that last word left his mouth, I pushed him, hard. I pushed him away, really pushed him away. He never expected me to push him, heck I didn't even expect it myself.

But I did push him.

He stumbled backwards, creating distance between us. And the second his eyes met mine, a pink void appeared between us. An army of Kraang walking into the sewers, separating Leo from me, Mikey and April. I tried, I really tried to hold them off. We already had to abandon Dad, and Casey and Raph where still somewhere topside. We couldn't afford losing more.

I tried….but one of them shot me. I fell to the ground, vaguely acknowledging someone holding me, the smell of burned flesh filling my nostrils. I could hear someone crying out my name, Mikey? The sound of shooting lasers. And that's when the sentence came, the same sentence that had filled my nightmares for months.

"The Kraang has located the ones known as the turtles by that which is called arguing"

They found us, they found us because of me. I argued with Leo, I screamed, and that's how they found us. Because I didn't listen to Leo…. that's how the Kraang found us. That's how Leo got separated from us. And why he was lying here in front of me, unconscious in the bathtub. I squeezed my eyes shut as the memory replayed itself in my head over and over again.

"I'm sorry Leo, I'm so sorry" I mumble, rubbing my eyes to get rid of the tears that were slowly starting to drip down my cheeks. It was all my fault. If I hadn't argued with Leo… Even before the Kraang found our lair, Leo suggested to get out of the city. But no, I refused to listen, I wanted to fight. If we'd just left the city before the Kraang had found our lair…..

If I hadn't argued, April would've never been attacked, the Kraang would've never found our lair. New York would be free from the Kraang. Master Splinter wouldn't be dead right now, and Leo wouldn't be lying here, beaten, bruised and unconscious. He hasn't moved, not after all this time. He didn't even twitch, it was like he was dead already.

Only his beating heart and his ragged breathing indicating I hadn't killed my big brother.

"I'm so sorry Leo… please wake up big brother… we need you… I need you" Again my chest tightened painfully at that sentence. We needed him… I needed him. I needed to tell him I was sorry, that I hadn't meant for this to happen. I needed to tell him he was a great leader, and that I was sorry for arguing. I needed Leo to hold me, awake and alive.

Tears started to drip down my face, and this time I made no effort to stop them. Endless rivers streamed down my cheeks as I slowly saw the sun go down, sunlight replacing itself with moonlight. And yet I never took my eyes from Leo's unconscious form. He looked horrible. The bruises hadn't even faded completely.

On some parts of his arms, and his legs there were still some yellow bruises, marking his sick looking skin. He was worse when we brought him in. It hadn't even been a day but his skin was already starting to turn blue and black. Like really black. Almost half of his skin was decorated with the bruises, barely showing the once healthy green skin.

There were two long gashes over his plastron, and no one needed to ask where he had got them, or from who. It was very clear that it was the Shredder who had struck him with his gauntlet. His shell was cracked, almost completely splitting in half. Back then we had to use special tape to hold it together. The shell was healed right now, as far as it could ever heal. He would always bear the scars.

Numerous cuts were all over his body, cuts that clotted long ago. There was dirt everywhere, on his legs, on his arms and on his face. And even after all the blankets we'd given him during the ride, he was still way too cold. Even after 11 hours of warming him up, he was still cold. That's was one of the reasons we put him in the tub, to warm him up. But it would also accelerate his healing.

If we'd only see the results….

So much time has passed, I had seen him healing, his physical body getting better. And yet he never woke up. Me and Raph were the ones who watched him regularly. But most of the time I was here in the room, watching Leo and trying to memorize every healing wound on his body, knowing all of the wounds were my fault.

Mikey… just like the rest he changed after the invasion. He wasn't his hyper self and seemed to avoid the bathroom most of the times. I can't really blame him, I hated seeing Leo in this state as well. It was just that I didn't allow myself not to see him. I caused this. And the only reason Raph watched him was because he wanted me to sleep as well.

I think he is afraid to disturb any of us. He changed, yes, he changed a lot. April and Casey aren't any better. The teens are obviously distressed by everything that had happened in New York. April's dad got mutated once again. And Casey has no idea where his dad is, or his little sister. They were worse the first month, awfully quiet and passive.

They got better, we all did, except for Leo.

My closed eyes suddenly snapped open, my body flailing slightly as I almost fell out of the chair. I frowned inwards, looking around the room to see what had woken up. I had never expected the answer. Right in front of me, still lying in the tub was Leo. His arms were slightly twitching, and his face was scrunching up with discomfort.

And then his beautiful sea blue eyes opened, looking directly into mine.

"Leo!" I cried happily, causing the chair to fall on the ground with a loud 'thud' as I flew out of the chair. "Leo you're awake, I-I can't believe it!" I whispered, fresh tears streaming down my face as I looked in the tired and confused expression of my older brother.

"D-Do…n"

It was the most pitiful sound I've heard in my life, ever. And yet it's the best sound that I've ever heard. Hearing my big brother speak again after being in a coma for such a long time.

"I'm here Leo.. you w-woke up… oh man Leo… you have no idea" I'm pretty sure I was rambling right now, and for once I didn't care about the tears streaming down my face. Shaking hands reached out for his face, and one of my fingers carefully brushed along the side of his face. The same face that had been littered with bruises when we first arrived at the farm house.

Leo closed his eyes slightly at the touch, a weak smile appearing on his face as he slightly leaned into my touch. My smile dropped a little, my hand hesitantly recoiling a bit.

"Leo…" I whisper in a small voice, causing Leo to open his eyes weakly. "I-I'm s-so sorry L-Leo…. s-so sorry for y-yelling and c-causing ..this. Please f-forgive me big brother" I cried, reaching for his hands and squeezing them slightly. A surprised look spreads over Leo's face as I refuse to look at him, shame and guilt overwhelming me.

I was surprised to feel a gently squeeze. It was weak, so very weak but it was enough for me to feel. Still, my eyes hesitantly trailed to Leo's now conscious form, eventually stopping at his slightly duller sea blue eyes. But for now I was too relieved to care.

"S'not y…. fault…" Leo managed to stutter, his face scrunching up as he used his voice for the second time after waking up from his coma. Fresh tears immediately jumped in my eyes when I heard his voice again, my smile brightening again through the tears. Leo twitched again, and immediately his face scrunched up with discomfort. I sucked in a breath, seeing him in pain and placing a gentle hand on his plastron.

"Don't m-move Leo… you.. you were hurt badly." I gently say, my voice still not steady enough from the crying. "Hold up, I'll call the Mikey and Raph." I say before hollering Raph and Mikey's name through the house, never leaving Leo's side or even letting go of his hand. I wouldn't leave him, not now he was finally awake.

I wouldn't leave him until he was healed.

"Don, what's wrong?" Eventually it was Mikey who appeared in the door opening, looking a bit hesitant. A smile appeared on my face to assure him, and the sentence just slipped from my mouth. Something I never expected to say, but it was true.

"Leo's awake" My voice was barely above a whisper but I didn't care, looking at Mikey's reaction. My baby brother's head shot towards the tub, tears jumping in his eyes as his eyes landed on Leo's body, and yet he didn't move a single muscle. Tears were now streaming down his face and he hesitantly took a step towards me and Leo.

"Leo?" Mikey's voice was, just like mine, barely above a whisper. The voice filled with hurt and… disappointment…? His shoulders dropped slightly as he walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Bed time Donatello" He said in a low voice, surprising me. Out of the four of us, Mikey was the last one to use our full names, only when he thought it was absolutely necessary. Why wasn't he reacting to Leo?

"Mi-.. ke" Leo rasped pitifully, trying to reach out for Mikey but his limbs were too weak to do so, trembling as he tried to reach out. I didn't move, staring at the lifeless of my older brother. Eventually Mikey wrapped an arm around me, hauling me up with strength I didn't know he possessed.

"W-what are you d-doing Mikey… Leo.. he's a-wake" I hiccup, slightly struggling against my baby brother's hold. My little brother doesn't say anything, instead he brings my hand towards Leo's face. My face twist in confusion as my fingers hover over his sea blue eyes. Leo recoils slightly at the close contact, Mikey however doesn't seem to notice and brings my finger closer to his face.

The moment my finger faintly touch his eye I realized…

My finger ghosts along the closed eyelid, and I can feel the ragged breaths of my older brother against my wrist. My eyes snap open at the sudden realization and I rip my arm from Mikey's grasp, stumbling back harshly and tripping over my own feet, Leo's unconscious body being the last thing I see before I fall to the ground, landing harshly on my shell.

"N-No" I whisper, trying to blink the incoming tears out of my eyes. I can see Mikey coming towards me and I stare fearfully at him, scrambling back as fast as I can until my shell hits the wall behind me. I let out a low whimper, recoiling slightly from the hand on my shoulder.

"C'mon Don" Mikey ushered softly, nudging me slightly. I whimpered again, burying my head in my knees, ignoring Raph walking into the bathroom. Voices were around me but I ignored them all. I ignored everything, the only thing I really noticed were the tears streaming down my face, Leo's open eyes flashing through my mind.

It wasn't real…. This wasn't real…

Another low whimper echoes through the room as Mikey hauls me up again by my arm. I could see tears shining in his eyes as well. It was like he was ignoring me, looking ahead of him with a blank expression. Raph was looking at me with a sorrowful expression but I just turned me head away, allowing Mikey to lead me out of the bathroom.

Leaving the unconscious body of my older brother behind me, his body still in the same position as 2 months ago.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I satisfied with this? Absolutely not. But will I post it either way? Absolutely. I spent time on this, both writing and trying to make it better so I'd be satisfied…. didn't work out though. But I hope you enjoy it at least :)
> 
> Here's my take on the episode with the Super Shredder.. don't take it seriously, it's rubbish xD

"Since I was a boy I have seen this very vision; the world in chaos."

And it was. The whole city was burning, burning and in chaos like it had been a year ago with the Kraang invasion. When Leo had been beyond injured; and Splinter had been near death, presumed dead for over 3 months.

"Shredder!" April yelled, quickly climbing onto the red car and facing the man, the mutant, that was now holding one of her best friends and slowly crushing him. Agonising screams of pain resonating through the streets.

Karai jumped down as well, crouching down before straightening and readying her sword, aiming at the man who had caused her so much pain, took her mother away.

"Let him go, freak!" She yelled, eyes narrowed. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she watched Leo get crushed by the man who raised her. Though the moment the sentence left her mouth he turned towards her, throwing Leo away with great speed. The blue clad turtle landed with a loud thud, groaning and crying out in pain.

"Do not disrespect me daughter"

April's eyes widened, jumping off the car to kneel next to Leo. "Leo, are you..!" She yelled, gingerly touching his shoulders.

"I'm .. f-fine. Help K-Karai" He groaned through the pain, shaking from the injuries the Shredder had inflicted upon him. April nodded with determination in her eyes and she straightened, throwing the first thing she found at the Shredder.

"What?!" He yelled, turning around and blasting April to the ground. April's eyes widened, scrambling backwards as the Shredder neared her. But before he could do so Karai's sword clashed with the armor on his body.

"I just need to find a soft spot monster!" She yelled before jumping at him again. "Get Leo out of here!" She yelled, her sword once again striking the spikes that were growing out of his skin. The ginger girl immediately turned to her fallen friend, who was slowly starting to get up, and rushed over to him.

"Come on" She ushered, wrapping her arm around his shell and supporting him as much as she could.

"Leave m-me. Karai needs y-you" He mumbled, groaning in pain and curling into himself as much as he could. April opened her mouth to respond but before she could a scream from Karai resonated through the air, warning her.

Without thinking April pushed Leo out of the way, jumping back herself. Shredder landed exactly in the middle, Leo crumbling to the ground the moment April pushed him. Her eyes widened.

"KARAI!" She yelled, to see if she was okay but also a call for help. There was no way she could take him out. She stuck out her hands, levitating Shredder and throwing him as far away as she could but he practically bounced off the streets, standing up and walking over to them within seconds.

He growled, holding his arm up in the air before throwing one of the sharp spikes that was growing in his skin, directly at her head.

"April!" A familiar voice suddenly yelled and a green figure crashed into the Shredder, forcing him back, but only the slightest, before something crashed into her as well. She expected it to hurt but the figure was surprisingly gentle, wrapping his arms around her and rolling over the street before coming to a stop.

"You okay?" Mikey asked, slightly panting and released her from the hold.

"You got hit" Was the only thing April managed to say, as a small trickle of blood streamed down Mikey's arm. Mikey smiled, helping her stand.

"It's nothing dude. Super Shredder was going to have your head" He exclaimed before turning serious again. "Raph!" He yelled as his older brother was struck down, harshly landing on the hard street beneath him. Mikey reached for his chucks, running at Shredder as well.

"Stay away from him!" The orange clad turtle yelled, throwing and wrapping the chain around Shredder's arm. The latter immediately turned towards him, jerking his arm hard and Mikey suddenly found himself face to face with the Shredder. "Sewer apples" He muttered before Shredder grabbed him by the plastron.

He cringed in pain as the claws dug into the area around his collarbone. Shredder narrowed his eyes behind his mask before throwing him away. Wind whipped around him and the next thing he knew was his shell cracking the window.

Raph growled, charging in on the Shredder again. "Nobody hurts ma family" He screamed before his eyes went impossibly wide, Shredder's now mutated hand around his ankle. With one fluid movement he felt himself thrown through the air, skidding across the pavement before colliding with a fallen car.

Pain shot up his arm and he carefully touched the injured limb, his fingers instantly wetting with his blood. Before he could even fully stand up a scream resonated behind him, but it wasn't a familiar scream. He whipped his head around, ignoring the flaring pain in his arm, there, just a meter from him was a woman, holding a baby in her arms. Another small girl next to her.

Both looking at him with only one emotion; fear.

"Get out of here! It's too dangerous" Raph growled, directing his gaze back to the battlefield again. Leo was still out, but he was slowly starting to get up. Mikey was nowhere to be see and April, Don and Karai were battling Shredder. He watched with wide eyes as all three of them were knocked away.

And then his eyes locked with the Shredder's. The mutant let out a loud growl, charging towards Raph, the latter grabbed his sais, jumping towards Shredder as well. His sais clashed with the spikes and he jumped backwards, landing on the ground before Shredder could land a hit on him.

"Don't ya have a weak spot?" Raph growled and suddenly a small sob came from behind him. He cursed inwards, knowing that the woman was still standing there. "I said run!" He screamed in fury, deflecting a spike that was aimed at the humans before jumping onto the Shredder again.

This time he wasn't fast enough and Shredder's hand wrapped around his wrist.

"You cannot defeat me reptile" Shredder spat, bringing him as close to his face as possible.

"Ya wanna bet?" Raph spit out, kicking at Shredder's head. The latter narrows his eyes dangerously before snapping and completely crushing Raph's wrist.

A loud scream resonated through half the city as crushing pain shot up his arm. Raph writhed, spasming as pain made its way through his entire body. "Pathetic" He barely even registered the insult before he felt wind whipping around him and he clattered to the ground.

"Raph" A light voice whispered, and he felt small hands on his body. He groaned, blinking a couple of times before the redhead came into focus. "You okay?" She asks and Raph looks at her with an 'are you serious?' look.

April gnaws at her lip slightly. "Right, sorry." She mutters, hooking an arm under his uninjured arm. "Can you stand?" She asks but Raph waves her off.

"I'm fine, go help the others" He says, gesturing to the Shredder, surrounded by Don and Karai. But they were both getting their ass kicked. April hesitates for a moment before she runs back to the Shredder, levitating things on her way there.

TMNT

Mikey's POV

We had done this numerous times but for some reason this time was different. Maybe it were the flames licking at my shell, or the fact that glass was still separating me from freedom. I glanced around, gazing at the streets, looking for my bros and deciding what to do next; not like I had all the time in the world with the flames steadily approaching.

Leo was lying on the streets, a different position from where I'd last seen him but still not moving and curled up in a ball, no doubt in pain. April was on the ground as well, lying next to a dented carl with blood streaming out of her nose. Her clothes had small rips in them and her hair was loose.

Don, Raph and Karai were attacking Shredder right now. But Raph was only holding one sai, and a look of pain was on his face as he stubbornly kept attacking. Don was bleeding heavily from numerous cuts but he kept on attacking and Karai was apart from a few bruises unharmed.

I narrow my eyes, bringing my arm back and striking the glass with my nun chuck. The glass doesn't break on the first try but I don't hesitate; striking again. This time the glass does break with a shattering sound. Without skipping a beat I jump, firing my grappling hook and rolling onto the streets with ease.

I glance around before running towards the battlefield. "Leo" I immediately gasp, skipping to my knees in front of my oldest brother. Leo groans, his eyelids fluttering before they focused on me.

"Go h-help t… the o-others" He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

"Dude" I whisper, ghosting my fingers along his arm but stopping as Leo sucks in a painful breath. "I'll be back, I promise" I state, standing up and running to the Super Shredder. Without announcing myself I jumped, landing on his back and striking him with my nun chuck.

"What?!" Shredder yelled, reaching backwards en grabbing my chuck.

"Shit" I cursed again, letting out a yell as I was pulling from his back and thrown on the ground. A clash of metal was heard and I gasped, looking up to see Shredder's hand being blocked by Raph's sai, mere inches from my face. "Thanks Raphie!" I called out, jumping up and attacking Shredder while Raph distracted him.

I stuck out my chuck again, hitting him across the head before landing perfectly on the ground. "You okay?"

Raph scowled, throwing his spare sai before Don jumped on the Shredder. "Broken wrist" He reluctantly admits but reaches for his second sai and jumping in again. I narrow my eyes at his attack and jump in as well.

"Donnie!" I yell as Shredder hits him across the head, before bringing his claws down and cutting through skin. A loud yell resonates from my immediate older brother and he drops to the ground, scrambling backwards and pressing a hand to his arm.

"Shredder!" Raph yells angrily, jumping Shredder again but he easily grabs Raph's foot, throwing him on the ground. Shredder raises his arm again, and grabs Raph's uninjured wrist, pulling him from the ground. Raph lets out a loud yell, filled with pain and he's thrown at the ground, whimpering and curling into himself.

"Raph!" I scream, with thumping heart ignoring my fallen brother and turning to the Shredder again.

"You are beneath me mutant" He growls, but it wasn't directed at me.

The bo staff comes flying at his head, and even Shredder isn't fast enough to stop the bo from hitting his face, directly followed by Karai's katana in his back. Metal clashing with metal is heard but the only thing that happens is an angered roar and Karai being thrown into the wall before he turns to Don.

Without saying anything Shredder throws him on the ground, before stomping down on his knee. A scream filling the air, filled with so much pain.

"Donatello!" Karai screams, and we both jump at the Shredder, forcing him to step away from Donnie.

"Shit. Don!" I mutter, running up to him. "Oh my god"

"I-it's n-not...gaahhh" Don screams, clutching his shattered knee. "Mikey look out!" But he was too late, before he could finish his sentence I felt something grab my belt, pulling me away before slamming me down, shell first.

I gasp, a yell unable to escape as pain shoots up my body, resonating from my back. "Nnngghh" I groan, trying to roll away but Shredder picks me up again, bringing me towards his face.

Then without saying anything he pulls his arm back, punching me in the plastron. I gasp, ears ringing as he hits me again. And then next thing I know is Shredder pushing me onto the ground again with as much force as he could muster. My shell collided with the ground, Shredder pressing me down.

And the moment my shell connects with the ground I feel it give away, cracks running up and down my shell.

Pain radiates through my body and my arms quiver as I try to stand up. I blink, feeling my ears ring, fire spreading through my shell. I choke back a scream, my vision blurred slightly and when it focused again I could see Leo crawling towards his sword.

"NO!" I try to yell but nothing came out, my cords unable to form any words. And I was helpless to see him being slammed into the pavement, and again. Before he stopped, and pointed his claws at Leo's face. My heart hammered in my chest, ignoring the pulsing pain.

"Stop! Don't do this!" Karai yelled. "You can do something good for once Saki, something without malice, without the need for revenge!" Shredder stopped for a second before taking a step towards the human child.

"Karai… I never meant to hurt you. Please.. call me father" He paused for a moment, and Karai glanced towards Leo. "Not Saki" He added and Karai glared, reaching for her sword.

"You. were never my father!" She screamed before pushing the sword through Shredder's heart.

"NO!" Shredder screamed, mutagen erupting from his mouth before he collapsed to his knees, spilling a mouthful of mutagen onto the street before falling on his side, not moving and mutagen slowly streaming out of his body.

"Mikey?" I turned my head, looking up at Raph, who stood in front of me with pain showing on his face. His wrist and hand bleeding and his bones out of place, and his elbow on his other arm clearly out of its socket.

I whimper, trying to get myself up from the ground but collapsing from the pain, limbs quivering. "Don't ya move" Raph says, a rare gentleness in his voice.

"The o-others?" I gasp, and Raph looks up for a moment as he checks on the rest.

"April's with Don, Karai's with L-Leo" He says, a little waver in his voice, despite the fact that he was trying to hide it.

"W-we have t-to get b-back" I stutter but Raph doesn't answer, looking up as someone approaches us.

"Mikey's right" Karai says bluntly, carefully setting Leo down. He groans, leaning against one of the cars but doesn't do or say anything else. Raph looks at Leo with pain in his eyes, both emotionally and physically. I blink, feeling tears of pain push past my eyelids, pain erupting from my shell as I tried to move.

"How are we gonna do that?" Raph bites. "Donnie and Mikey are in no shape to walk and you can't carry them either"

"Guys!" April interrupts from a few metres away, standing protectively in front of Donnie, who was leaning against a street lantern, blood covering him. My eyes widen immediately as I saw what was happening, humans..

"What are those?!" One of the officers screamed but April stood her ground.

"Don't hurt them!" She screamed and Karai immediately ran up to April to help her, hands hovering above her sword.

"What are they?!" The same officer demanded again.

"Mutants, but they won't hurt you. Let them go!" Karai pleaded, drawing her sword as a warning to get back. The police did a few more steps, forming some sort of line, and behind them humans approached them as well.

"And what was the thing that attacked the city huh?!" Another one screamed, training his gun on Donnie's head.

"Our enemy, we defeated him. Please let them go" April tried again and sirens were held in the distance, ambulances and fire trucks. I looked around with a wince, seeing burning building around me. More people were hurt and the buildings were still ablaze.

"It's true" Someone suddenly said, loud and clear. "They stopped that monster"

"She's right, they took that thing down for you" Karai snapped, pointing to her 'father', like hell she was going to tell the world that he was her father.

"Send ambulances, she is right, they're hurt" One of the policemen suddenly said, putting his gun away. The rest of them lowered their gun slightly in confusion but didn't object. They trained their guns on us again but didn't fire, didn't threaten, they were protecting themselves at this point.

"NO!" Raph screamed, causing everyone to look at him. "We're not going with them, they're humans." Raph argued, softer so only we would hear him.

"Raph.." Leo says hesitantly, gritting his teeth and I whimper as pain shoots up my back and my insides burn.

"They're not taking us, they can't be trusted" He says and grits in teeth, both in anger and in pain. I open my mouth to say something but suddenly pain flares up in my stomach and I gasp in pain, hunching forwards before I vomit onto the streets. Raph curses and Leo gasps.

"Raph" He starts, and I whimper, looking at my own bile. "I don't think we have a choice" He continues, the streets turning red from blood. I was coughing up blood, I vaguely noticed but I was too lightheaded to really notice, and before could really comprehend I retched again, fully collapsing.

"If we die I'm blamin' you" Raph mutters, carefully reaching out with his broken wrist but deciding against touching me.

Raph's POV

I look up, glaring at the approaching humans. There were 6, three gurney's in their hands.

"Mikey first" Leo says, gesturing to Mikey with his head and he bites back a scream of pain at the movement. The humans comply and place one of the gurney's next to Mikey's curled up body.

"Don't ya move" I order again, staying next to Mikey as they lift him on the gurney. "Careful!" I hiss with bared teeth as Mikey let's out a choked scream of pain. I knew.. I knew they couldn't prevent that scream, but I couldn't help myself either. They were humans, I didn't trust them.

"I suppose you're coming with .. us" One of the doctors announces, and she eyes at the gurney but I shake my head.

"I can walk" I say, getting to my feet with difficulty. Pain flares up in both my arms but I don't show it. "Wait for Leo" I say as they are ready to move Mikey and bring him back to the ambulance, and I'm surprised to see them comply, getting Leo onto the gurney before moving both Leo and Mikey.

"Raph" Leo gasps, and I look at him with worried eyes. "Stay with Mikey, keep 'n eye on 'im" He mutters, unable to raise his voice properly.

"I will" I assure him, and once we reached the ambulance I locked eyes with Karai for a second, silently communicating. She went into the ambulance with Leo, and I got into the ambulance with Mikey. I just hoped April had gone with Donnie, to protect him from the other humans.

"Prepare for immediate surgery!" One of the doctors yelled and turned to Mikey, hovering over him. "What are you?" He asks with a hurried voice, turning Mikey's head as he continued to vomit blood, desperately trying to get enough oxygen.

"None of your damn business" I snap, inching closer to my little brother. But I couldn't do a single thing with both my arms injured.

"We need to operate on him turtle, and we know nothing about him" The man snapped back and only then I understood what he was trying to say. Could we handle human medicines? Human surgery?

I shake my head, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. "U-Uhm.. we take normal medicine… I think, anaesthetic but we were never this bad. I-I don't know."

The man frowns. "We don't have time to test" He says, putting a mask on Mikey's face. Immediately my little brother takes a huge breath, cringing and crying out in pain immediately after.

"Do whatever ya must, but I'm stayin' with him"

TMNT

"GET OFF OF ME!" I scream, kicking out as hard as I could, but nothing connected with my foot. "LET ME SEE HIM, YER NOT TAKIN' HIM AWAY"

"What do we do?!" Somebody yelled, fear present in his voice but I ignored it, the only thing I was focused on was the now closed door, preventing me from looking after Mikey like I promised.

And suddenly someone grabbed my left arm, the elbow that was still dislocated. Immediately pain flared up and I screamed, legs quivering until they couldn't hold my wait anymore. My head connects with the ground and for a second I'm seeing stars, and that is enough time for the humans to pin me down.

I groan in pain, despite the fact that they're trying to avoid my arms.

"You can't go into that room, you hear me?" The woman that was sitting on my plastron angrily spats out before starting to stand up slightly. "Now come with me, you need to be treated" She says, placing her hands on my plastron to keep me down, until I agreed.

Like hell I would. "I'm seein' ma brother" I glare and the woman glares right back.

"You can't go into that room" She insists before taking her hands off my plastron. "But there is a room connected to the surgical room with glass separating it" And that's all that I need to know, that's all she has to say for me to agree.

TMNT

"Fuck!" I curse through gritted teeth, squeezing my eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them again, still looking at the still body of my little brother. Then, without warning, the woman jerks on my arm and I feel a pop as the elbow pops back into its socket.

"GAAAHH!" I yell. "Chikushō saitei baka yarou baka ka kuso nanda" I curse as pain radiates through my whole body, and I suddenly felt really cold and sweat dripped down my forehead. The woman only looks up for a second before concentrating on my elbow again.

"I'm going to assume those were swear words" She states and I growl low in my throat.

"What are they doing" I grit out, gesturing to the surgeons on the other side of the glass.

"Does it look like I know?" She asks me in return.

"Don't play games with me" I growl back, glaring at her. She doesn't even look up, concentrating on my arm instead. "Give me one good reason why I should be okay with that" I suddenly say, looking at the all familiar sight of surgeons cutting and sawing through Mikey's plastron.

This time the woman does look at me, probably surprised by the change of sudden behaviour. Or the fact that the last time I brought this up she had to bend my already broken wrist to stop me from killing her. But who the hell wouldn't do the same when humans decided to saw through their brother's chest?!

"Because the door is locked and the glass is unbreakable, that's why" She says, tightening the bandage a little too tightly, and without caring that the arm was broken I swung at her.

TMNT

"This is horrible" Donnie whispers and I grunt slightly, wrapping my left arm around my immediate younger brother. The arm that was now in a thick cast but still throbbing with pain.

"It's over" I whisper back, glancing at the bed next to me. "Did they tell you anything about Leo?" He asks, hissing in pain as he moves from his spot a bit. April flashes him a concerning look but I just tighten my hold on him, ignoring the throbbing arm.

"They had him undergo surgery, Shredder broke both his shoulder blades. Along with his collarbones, sternum and his arms" I whisper back, closing my eyes for a moment. I glance at the bed again, looking at the motionless body of Leo.

"And you?" Don asks, glancing down at my arms. I scoff, rolling my eyes.

"I'll be fine" I shrug him off, glancing at my immediate younger brother in concern. Don smiled tiredly, shrugging his injuries off as well. Exactly at the same time the door opens, and April is immediately up, hands up to protect us if anyone tried to attack us. But she immediately lowers them as Karai walks in.

"The police haven't spoken to the public about you, it will only cause more panic after Shredder's attack." She speaks up and April nods.

"So what will happen now?" April asks and Karai looks at her, walking over to sit on the chair next to Leo's bed, putting her hand on top of his.

"You go back to the sewers and live on, there are still threats out there without Shredder being there" Karai says and April frowns.

"What about you?"

"I'm 19, I can get myself an apartment, with the money Shredder left me.." Karai says with a glare on her face. Because she didn't have parents anymore, at least not legally. Saki was her legal dad for 19 years, and she never had a mother, a deceased mother. She knew that Yoshi was her real dad, but the state didn't know that.

"You're not leaving again" A sudden weak voice calls out, and I snap my gaze to Leo's bed, beaming as I saw his sea blue eyes open but glassy.

"I can't stay in the sewers, I have a life up top" Karai says after a moment of shock, disgust but also relief in her voice. Leo smiles weakly, letting his head fall to the side in exhaustion. I untangle myself from Don's hug, walking over to Leo, sitting next to him. He looks at me, scanning me and I roll my eyes.

Leave it to Leo to start worrying about us before worrying about himself.

"Karai, the world thinks yer father just died, I'm sure they'll understand" I butt in, causing her to look at me with a surprised look. "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye out for blue boy over here" I grin and Leo grumbles in fake annoyance.

"I hate you" He mumbles but Karai just smirks, looking at me with gratitude in her eyes. Not because of the last comment, but because of the offer to stay in the sewers.

TMNT

"The guys cleaned a room for me when I lived with them, and there are plenty more rooms." April states and Karai raises an eyebrow. "It used to be a subway station, there's a lot more space and it's a bit convenient that there are exactly four rooms right?"

At this Karai nods, looking at the small bag that was standing next to her before gazing back at the tree in the middle of the dojo.

"You can sleep in my room if you want, I have a spare mattress under the bed for when Casey wanted to crash here as well" She offers. "Don't worry, there's a clean sheet."

"She will not have to" Splinter announces before walking into the dojo, immediately the two girls stand up, looking at their father. "The boys will not be sleeping in their rooms for a while, they will be happy to offer you theirs. I know your room is smaller than the others April" But the human girl waves it off.

"I don't mind, it already means so much that you even offered me a room here, besides, I don't sleep here that often. Karai… Miwa can have my room and I'll look after the guys for tonight. You need rest as well"

Splinter sighs, shaking his head in disapproval but before he can object to April giving away her room and offering something like that the girl had already beat him to it.

"Where are the guys sleeping if they aren't in their rooms?" She asks but the second the question leaves her mouth she knows where they are. "The nest" She states and Splinter nods, but Miwa frowns in confusion.

"The nest?"

"Why don't I show you?" Splinter says with a snicker in his voice, and I beam slightly. Karai nodded and followed Splinter out of the dojo towards the 'living room'. Only to stop the moment she saw what the guys had done to the place, or at least with the help of Splinter and Casey.

Mattresses were scattered all over the pit, creating a giant bed, on which the guys were sleeping. Snuggled close to each other while minding each other's injuries. Leo and Raph were in the middle, much to everyone's surprise. Leo's upper body was immobilised by bandages and casts.

Casts around his arms, stopping at his elbow, and bandages making sure his arms stayed at his side. bandages were also wrapped around his torso and shoulders which hid numerous stitches from the surgery. Don was next to Leo, one arm on top of his own plastron while the other was thrown over Leo's, his hand facing upwards.

His broken leg was placed on several pillows to keep it elevated. Mikey was next to Raph, also wrapped up in bandages but lying on his side, his shell covered with multiple thin clothes to cover all the cracks that snaked up his shell. White, transparent gauze was all over his plastron from the surgery. Repairing a broken lung which has been punctured when his ribs broke.

One of his outstretched hand was holding onto Raph's hand, loosely holding it as the hand was wrapped in a cast for his broken wrist.

But all of them peacefully oblivious to the human teenagers looking at them.

Miwa watched with a smile on her face, silently sitting down on the couch surrounding the pit but April stopped her. "Only PJ's allowed" She grinned. Miwa watched April for a few seconds, surprised at the comment, before looking at her father, smirking.

"Get some sleep father, we'll watch over them for tonight"


	7. Chapter 7

He was fighting, swords drawn and facing off the guys on the EPF, the earth protection force. Leo had never felt more vulnerable, in complete sight of humans. But he fought for the world, to give Raph and Don time to give Chompy back, to get Tokka to leave so she wouldn't destroy the earth. He was fighting..

….And he was losing

Before he knew it two men tackled him, hitting him in the head and jerking his arms back, cuffing them. Leo groaned, shaking his head furiously as he was hauled to his knees, arms still behind him. He weakly looked up to Tokka, not moving anymore, and the EPF followed, not attacking but still ready to do so.

"Come on Raph hurry" He muttered, pulling weakly at his bonds but three men were holding him.

"What should we do with him?" One asked and Leo glanced at the man warily, who had put his hand on his ear, contacting his boss. There was a pause, no doubt waiting for a reaction from the other side of the line.

"Bring him back to the base, where they're holding the other two" Immediately Leo's eyes snap open, or more open, at the sentence. The other two. He pales at the thought. The other two. Strong hands tightened and started to drag him backwards, away from Tokka, away from Raph and Don.

Casey and Mikey, it couldn't be, the government couldn't have them.

or him.

And he realised at that moment that he didn't care for that last sentence. And how cruel it sounded, he didn't care the most about their human ally. He was human, not an alien the government would fear. He was a friend, not a brother. He was an ally, not his baby brother.

They couldn't have Mikey, they couldn't hurt his little brother.

TMNT

To be fair, he had seen enough disgusting things in his life, both in the sewers before they started fighting up above, and in the human world after they turned 15. They'd seen squashed Kraang, or even 'normal' Kraang. If living brain things could be considered normal, they were already gross.

And seeing their insides wasn't any better.

He had sliced through muscles and bones as they fought foot soldiers, fought robots and giant and gross mutants. He had been puked on by a garbage man, fought a super mutant that used to be the Shredder. He fought the Shredder. And for fuck sake, he lived in a sewer. They used to eat food in the sewer.

But nothing, and literally nothing in the world, could be any more disgusting than the sight in front of him.

His little brother was strapped to a table, bound by metal cuffs on both his wrists, ankles and a belt across his torso, keeping him rooted to the table. There was a mask on his face, with a tube running towards the ceiling, and every time his chest rose, he could hear him breathing almost artificially.

There was a tube running down his throat, he grimaced.

"Let him go, please" Leo suddenly renewed his struggles, not caring if they hurt him in the process. They just had to let his little brother go. Where was Casey?

Mikey blinked slowly, eyes half closed and he turned his head slightly, a faint glimmer of hope and recognition as he saw his oldest brother, but also fear for him. Leo didn't care, didn't care for himself. His eyes roamed over his brother's body, the multiple needles sticking out his arm.

Two tapping blood, and two pumping something in his system.

"Strap him down!" One ordered.

"Wait no! Stop!" Leo cried out as he was forced onto the table with force. His head snapped back, a sickening clang resonating through the room as his head hit the table. For a second he was dazed, and when his vision cleared again he felt the cuffs already in place, preventing him from moving.

There was a space between his waist and arms, perhaps 15 centimeter (6 inches). Immediately two men were swarming on either side, swabbing his elbow before inserting a needle. It was the strange liquid and Leo had no idea whether to be relieved or not, should I be relieved they're not taking blood?

"Mikey, otouto" Leo tried again, leaning his head to the side.

He swallowed thickly, Mikey couldn't even fully turn his head to the side because of the tube connected to the ceiling running into his throat. The sound of breathing made him sick in a twisted way, the breathing sounded wrong, the breathing you heard in hospital when someone couldn't breathe on his own.

Tears were in Mikey's eyes but he seemed strangely calm, his body at least. His eyes were full of panic and fear. And slowly Leo started to understand what the fluid was for. He felt his muscles and limbs become heavier, slowly, gradually.

"MIKEY! LEO!" Another voice suddenly screamed as the door slid open.

"Guys!" Leo quickly called out, craning his neck but unable to see his brothers, but he recognised Raph's voice everywhere.

"Get the fuck away from them!" Raph growled.

"Don't kill them!" Leo yelled, but was soon followed by a louder yell of pain, the voice unknown to him.

"Too late" Raph growled in Japanese but knocked the following man out, Don doing the same with the other two. Immediately Raph put his weapons back and rushed over to him, pushing the button and releasing the cuffs and getting rid of the belt and the needles.

"How's Mikey?" He called out as Raph helped him upright, his head started to spin but Raph kept him in place, kept him from falling over. His limbs felt heavy, as if weights were holding him back.

"Not good. Raph call someone to pick us up" There was panic in Don's voice as he undid the cuffs as well but didn't move Mikey yet, and strangely, neither did Mikey. It was the fluid they pumped into him Leo noted. It was the reason he felt weak as well.

All three brothers tensed as the door slid open, but immediately relaxed when they saw Bishop and Casey standing there. Casey had a cut on his face and some red spots from fighting but seemed okay. If the quiet behaviour was 'okay'. He was eyeing at Mikey with sadness, not moving.

"Raph help Donnie" Leo growled and Raph roared in frustration, whipping his head around.

"Casey help Leo" He ordered and Casey quickly hurried towards Leo, keeping him rooted in place. "What do we do?"

"Hold him steady, talk to him while I take out the breathing tube" Both Leo and Raph wince at the order, knowing what taking out the breathing tube meant. How painful it was supposed to be. None had ever needed one, but Don had done enough research, and had explained enough, for all three to know how unpleasant it would be.

Casey and Bishop couldn't understand them as they were still talking Japanese, but none made any move to clear things up for themselves.

"Hey buddy, you're gonna be alright okay" Raph whispered softly, placing a hand on either shoulder and looking Mikey directly in the eyes while Don removed the tape and other stuff keeping the tube in place. He gave one look towards both Raph and Mikey before reaching for the actually tube.

"Can you move anything voluntarily?" Don asked and Mikey moved his head slightly, his fingers twitching. Raph immediately responded by grasping them. "You have to cough but... I'm sorry but this won't be pleasant" Don apologised before starting to pull the tube out.

Mikey's eyes widened but was unable to move as Don slowly pulled out the tube that was almost 25 centimeters into his throat. (10 inches)

Without needing further instructions Raph cradled Mikey close as the tube was removed, bringing him to his plastron and picking him up bridal style. It seemed like Mikey still couldn't move and slumped against Raph, eyes half open. And it was then that Leo actually saw the full extent of injuries.

His upper thigh and upper arm on his right side were bandaged. A finger on his left hand swollen, broken. Donnie walked around the table, getting rid of the white pads that were on his maskless face, and rubbing his hand over the spots of blood on his arms where the needles had been.

"We need to get him home" Don frowned.

TMNT

"You comfy?" Raph asks with a frown of concern on his face.

"Very" Mikey whispered in a raspy voice and grinning, currently leaning against his older brother. His limbs were still heavy, and not responding the way he wanted them to. He could barely feel them in the first place.

"Ya need something to drink?" He asks at the voice but Mikey shakes his head slightly.

"Not thirsty" Raph winced at the sentence, and all the sentence applied. His voice was raspy, which would generally mean either thirst, or he had been screaming. And if he wasn't thirsty… Raph winced again, shaking his head and looking down at his littlest brother.

Raph quietly looked down at his little brother. His finger was splinted as it was broken by the humans, and Don bandaged both his upper arm and thigh again. They had cut off part of his skin on his leg and they had made an incision on his arm for research. And it could've been a lot worse..

"Raph, don't" Mikey whispers, craning his neck as much as he could. Raph frowns again, looking down at his youngest brother. "I'm fine" He continues and Raph curses mentally, how could he read him so well, every time?

"Like hell you are" Raph growled but Mikey shook his head.

"Maybe I'm not" He admits relucantly. "But I will be, just don't go berserker on me big bro" Mikey tries and Raph stares at Mikey's blue eyes before slowly nodding.

"I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner little bro" Raph whispered but again, Mikey shook his head.

"S'not your fault big bro, you rescued me" Mikey insisted and Raph grinned slightly.

"I will always come for you little bro" He looks up slightly to see both Raph and Don approach before smiling down on his little brother, who had already fallen asleep. "We all will"


	8. Chapter 8

It was overwhelming, that was the only word that could describe the feeling I was feeling right now. Overwhelmed.

Electricity was flowing all around me, trying to hit me, trying to destroy the ship. But I wouldn't let it, I wouldn't give in. Unstable, the energy was unstable, messing up with the ship and it wouldn't be long before I couldn't control it anymore. Before the energy would be too much to contain.

They had to get out, fast.

"I got this bros!" I scream, looking at my bros with determined eyes. "Everyone get outta here" But of course they didn't agree.

"No, we're not leaving you!" Leo screamed and I glared at him in response.

"I can't hold this forever" I groan in frustration, electricity pushing me onto one knee. Overwhelming, it was overwhelming me.

"No Michelangelo, it will destroy you!" Sal called out but I glare at him as well. He should understand my decision, he should be the one to be willing to go. I knew they left him behind as well when he was grabbed! He insisted on the guys continuing! He should understand my decision of sacrificing myself to get my family out safely.

"Hurry!" I call out, they needed to go now! I couldn't .. I couldn't hold this any longer. I still didn't fully understood it myself, these powers. And the electricity was too much. I groan again, squeezing my eyes shut and gritting my teeth.

"I won't leave ya Mikey!" Raph screamed and I growl low in my throat, bowing my head as electricity kept pushing at me. I felt tears burn but they had to go! They wouldn't survive the blast. Neither would I but I could give them time to get out, give them time to get out of the ship before it exploded, and killed them along with me.

"April, Karai!" I grind out, screaming out in frustration as I was pushed back slightly before regaining my footing again. Luckily the humans understood my call and from the corner of my eyes I could see them both drag Don and Leo away, Mona doing the same for Raph. Thankfully they didn't struggle much..

I had complete faith in our human allies, and Mona as well. And despite how skilled Karai and April were, Karai obviously more skilled than April was, they weren't as strong as Leo and Don, and when it came down to it, they would probably win and stay. Karai and Leo would be a little more tricky but one thing was sure.

They would last longer than I could hold this ship.

So while Don may win against April, being more experienced, Karai and Mona could hold their grounds against Leo and Raph. But they, luckily, didn't struggle.

They knew this had to be done, they knew it. But it was the same when Leo sacrificed himself at that Kraang ship. When we didn't want to leave him either, but we did because otherwise we'd all die. Or so we thought, because Leo still survived that. I wouldn't, and I was strangely okay with that.

If it meant saving my brothers and friends.

And I felt a strange sense of relief fill me when I heard Leo's command to jump out. And while I did try, I couldn't hold off the electricity and it wasn't long before everything blew up around me.

TMNT

"Everybody out!" Leo screamed, and I obeyed reluctantly, jumping down until I was standing on the rooftop. Don was standing next to April, Leo being supported by Karai but I couldn't get myself to walk towards Mona, the only thing I could focus on was the ship slowly flying higher and higher, away from us.

Carrying my littlest brother. And I could do nothing to save him.

"Mikey" I whisper, sinking to my knees as I look at the ship.

"Guys" Don raises his voice, but no explanation is needed as blue sparks fly out of the ship, seconds before the ship exploded. My mouth was open, as I watched the ship that held my breathing little brother explode. Explode and leaving nothing intact. I bow my head, feeling tear burn in my eyes.

It was so painfully silent.

My heart was beating so loudly in my chest and I could hear April gasp behind me, Leo's gear shift as he moved slightly. But nobody said anything. My chest was heavy, like someone was sitting on it as the scene kept replaying in my head. Twice, twice we lost him today, and one time he came back.

And now...

I look up again, seeing the debris fall down and towards the ground, along with a green-.

"April!" Leo calls out as the debris continues to near us, and we wouldn't be able to dodge everything. Immediately April puts on a shield above them but all I'm focused on is the figure falling, and without hesitation I jump, firing my grappling hook. I hear shouts behind me but I ignore them.

I ignore them, my only focus is on catching my brother, not leaving him behind another time.

I reach out, feeling a search of relief when my arm wrapped around Mikey's shell, holding him tightly against my side as I continue to swim until I connect with the wall, my shell taking the brunt of the damage. I grunt, feeling slight pain crawl up my shell but disappearing soon enough.

I look down, eyes widening.

"Mikey?" I call out and he moans softly in pain, blinking sluggishly. "Guys!" I call out, cradling Mikey closer to my side. Soon I felt the familiar feeling of April lifting us up, and someone was tugging on the grappling hook as well. It took a minute but I soon felt arms helping me onto the rooftop, but I refused to release Mikey.

It was only then that the burning smell reaching my nostrils .

"Dude" Mikey blinks again, reaching a shaky hand towards me and I immediately grasp it. "I l-lost my powers" I let out a weak laugh that sounded a lot like a sob, bowing my head for a second before releasing his hand. He looks worried for a moment but I just reach for his scorched mask, taking it off.

"Mikey, are you.. okay?" Don asks, falling to his knees and ghosting his hands over Mikey's body. I almost snort at the question, I would've if the exact same question hadn't been on my mind as well. But I also knew that Mikey was far from okay right now.

"Am I a-alive?" He gasps, groaning and squeezing my hand again.

Don smiles at the question, tears in his eyes as well. "You saved us little bro" He whispers and Mikey smiled as well.

"Then I'm okay" He whispers, going limp but still keeping his eyes open, tension draining from his body. His body was scorched, big parts of his arms and legs burned, surprisingly not badly. But what caught my attention was his left arm, it was as if someone had drawn the lightning bolt on his arm.

The lightning bolt ran up his left arm, almost covering his whole arm but fading out as it reached the underarm.

"Lichtenberg figures" Don mumbles next to me, noticing the state of his arm as well. I swallow, trailing down his arm before going up again. I had seen it before, the scars. Not in real life, but I had heard about the, googled them of course. I never thought I'd be seeing them on my brother's arm.

"We should get him home" Leo intercepts, still holding Mikey's free hand to comfort him. Don nods, looking at me and I swallow thickly, knowing this wasn't going to be pretty.

"I trust you Raph" Mikey breathes out softly, weakly, and I reluctantly slide an arm under his knees and shell, picking him up. He groans, whimpering in pain but merely hides his face in my plastron. His muscles are tense, quivering almost and he bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood probably.

"Yer gonna be okay" I mumble, looking up to the rest of the group.

"Y'Gythgba and I must head back to Salamandria and report to the General. Rokka, rokka" The commander spoke up. "Bring Michelangelo home" He added, looking at the figure in my arms. My face falls, looking at Mona instead.

"I'm sorry Mona.. I wish we could stay longer but Mikey.." I stop as she smiled, walking up to me.

"I understand Raphael. Bring him home" Mona spoke, nodding. "I will see you again, all of you" She said, looking at Leo and Don, before specifically looking at Mikey. But he didn't see it. I nod, turning around and heading home.


End file.
